The Evolution of Soul Mates
by Melissa Black13
Summary: Chapter 17: Anomaly - Scientists don't normally like anomalies, but Wally makes an exception in Artemis' case. A missing moment set in the middle of The Usual Suspects. Please review! XD
1. Idol

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me. **

Summary: Spitfire is endgame for me. They're going to get married and have babies and grow old together. This is the story of their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter One: Idol

When she's old and grey, Artemis will still remember the moment when she first heard the name Kid Flash.

She was 13, a snarky, twig of a girl with too much hair and not enough common sense to know when to shut her mouth. She was home alone, as usual. With a mother in jail, a father who was as good as, and a sister who she hadn't seen in 4 years, she was used to having the apartment to herself. And she was perfectly fine with that. She didn't need anyone, dear old dad least of all, to take care of her. She could do that herself, thank you very much. If her father was there, he would probably just make her spar against him or do some other sort of weapons training, and she already had too many bruises that required explaining anytime she had gym class. Not that any of the teachers at Gotham North Middle School cared.

She was making herself dinner when the report came on the news about a bank robbery in progress in Central City.

"This is Iris West-Allen reporting. We've just had word that Central City Savings Bank has been put on lockdown. According to the police, at exactly 3:05 PM, three armed men in black ski masks made their way into the bank and took all the civilians inside hostage. Stay tuned to GBS News for the latest developments."

Artemis quickly became engrossed in the story as she ate her dinner, especially when the robbers tried to make a break for it. Each of the three robbers had one hostage pulled close to them, with a gun trained to their head. As they inched closer to where their getaway car was, the lead crook shouted for the police to stay away from them, or they would blow the hostages brains out.

Artemis was so sure they were going to get away with the robbery when all of a sudden there was a red blur, and one of the hostages was gone. The next second there was a second blur, this time yellow, and another hostage had disappeared. The robbers looked around them uneasily, and the lead crook tightened his hold on the last hostage, a young woman of about 28. It was no use though. The red blur, the Flash, Artemis now realized, suddenly materialized in front of him, and quicker than lightning, knocked him out cold with one punch, freeing the hostage. The two accomplices seemed to get cold feet and turned to run away, but blocking their path was a boy dressed in yellow spandex with the Flash symbol on his chest. Surrounding him was half of the Central City police force.

"Going somewhere?" the boy asked, flashing them a smirk.

Artemis giggled. The boy hero had some spunk. She liked that. The police took all of the crooks into custody under the watchful eyes of Flash and apparently his new sidekick.

"Flash! Flash! GBS News. Can we get an interview?"

"Of course," the Flash said, strolling over to Iris West-Allen, the boy in yellow in tow. "Anything for my favorite reporter."

"Well, Flash, that sure was some rescue tonight," the reporter said. "Would you like to introduce your friend here to the world?"

"Sure," the Flash said. He rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "This is my new sidekick, Kid Flash."

"Fastest boy alive," the young speedster said, puffing out his chest. He couldn't have been that much old than her, Artemis decided. His bright green eyes betrayed his excitement, even though his demeanor remained nonchalant. Artemis thought he looked incredibly cute with his red hair all wind blown like it was.

"You seem awfully young, Kid," Iris said. "What made you want to start fighting crime?"

"As soon as I got my powers, I knew I wanted to use them to do good," Kid Flash told her. "I don't think you're ever too young to fight crime. Anyone can be a hero, no matter what their age."

He smiled at the camera, and Artemis felt her heart flutter a bit. It wasn't just what he looked like though. It was what he was saying. His words spoke to something deep inside of her. Artemis wasn't stupid, she knew what he father was training her for, what he had been training Jade for before she left. But deep down, Artemis knew she was a good person. She didn't want to do harm, she wanted to do good, like Kid Flash.

"Well, we've gotta run," Flash said. "But maybe you and I can finish this conversation later, over a cup of coffee?"

"Sorry, Flash," Iris said. "I recently just got married and I happen to love my husband very much."

"He's a lucky man," Flash told her, smiling like he didn't just get turned down on national television. Beside him, Kid Flash began cracking up, and his mentor elbowed him in the ribs so fast that Artemis wasn't even sure she had seen it. "Well, goodnight, folks! Come on, Kid."

With a wave to the camera, Kid Flash took off after his mentor. Iris West-Allen began speaking again, but there was a jingle of keys at the door, and Artemis dove for the remote to turn off the TV. She just managed to press Power when the door opened and her father's muscular form entered the apartment. He looked between her and the TV.

"What were you watching there, little girl?"

"The news," she replied. There was no point in lying. He would know. He always did. "There was an attempted bank heist in Central City this afternoon. They got caught."

Lawrence snorted, sticking his head into the refrigerator. "Amateurs."

He popped off the top of a beer bottle and took a long chug, eyeing her. Artemis didn't look away.

"Ready for training tonight?" he asked her.

She nodded obediently, but she had a plan forming in her mind. "I was thinking…Maybe we could try archery again?"

* * *

><p>Two years later, her mother was out of jail, and Artemis found herself suddenly free from her father's grasp for the first time in 6 years. No more training, no more tests, no more mental or emotional abuse. She was free to be what she had wanted to be so desperately since she first saw Kid Flash on the news. And she kept up with him the whole time too. She was watching when he and Flash took on Captain Zoom for what seemed like the 50th time. She was watching when he and the other sidekicks got to go to the Hall of Justice. Overtime, she had come to realize that more than admiring Kid Flash, she seemed to have developed a minor crush on him. Which was ridiculous because he was a superhero who would never have anything to do with her.<p>

She had taken to patrolling her neighborhood with her bow and arrow. Her father had taught her well. Her bow was like an extension of herself now. Batman and Robin never really came up to the North Gotham area, so Artemis had taken it upon herself to keep the area as safe as she could. It was a quiet night until she came upon a boy in a black t-shirt with an S on it, fighting off a crazy robot. Artemis knew that she should probably have let someone, anyone, else handle it, but she was stubborn and there wasn't anyone around.

Except for Robin and Kid Flash himself, she soon found out. Following the path of destruction left behind by the Superman wannabe, Artemis found herself at Gotham Academy. There she watched from nearby as Kid Flash and his friends tried to defeat the robot, which seemed to have all the powers of the Justice League. She tried to help but she was a bit preoccupied herself with the robot monkeys who had decided to attach her. One by one she got rid of them, until only a few were left. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of yellow, and turned her attention to what was happening in the gym below her. What she saw almost made her heart stop.

Kid Flash was in the clutches of the robot who was slowly crushing the young speedster. And just like that, all her father's training went out the window and Artemis panicked. She had to do something. It was Kid Flash. He wasn't just her crush; he was practically her idol. In her mind, he stood for everything good in the world; for truth, justice, bravery and all that crap. She couldn't just let him be crushed to death while she stood there and did nothing. A robot monkey was crawling up her leg, so with one hand she reached back and grabbed an arrow, stabbing the monkey through the head with it in one fluid motion, before notching it and taking aim at the giant robot's head. She took a fraction of a second to focus, as any deviation meant she might hit Kid Flash himself, before she let the arrow fly.

It was straight and true, but the robot must have heard it coming as it phased so the arrow passed right through him. Artemis was disappointed, but realized that the robot's phasing allowed Kid Flash the opportunity to slip out of the robot's grasp. She gave herself a mental pat on the back, before turning to destroy the rest of the robot monkeys. Only when the last one was destroyed did she let herself peak back into the gym.

The three of them had somehow managed to destroy the robot, and had been joined by two other people, a dark skinned boy and a green girl with red hair. To Artemis, they looked as if they were…a team. A burning desire floated through her. She would give anything to be a part of something like that. She deflated almost immediately though. She would never even be considered for such a group. With connections to criminals in her immediate family, Artemis would be the last candidate to ever be on a team with a bunch of younger superheroes.

_Get your head out of Wonderland, Alice_, she thought bitterly, collapsing her bow.

She hid out of sight until the group of 5 was gone, before fading into the shadows.

* * *

><p>AN: Just so everyone is aware and we're starting on the same page, I'm awful at completely stories. Like terrible. So, your reviews and encouragement will really help me put this together. If anyone has ideas of what they would like to see, I'm open to anything! Please let me know in a review or a PM what you'd like to see and I'll try and get it together.

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! :-) Please?

Next Up: Teammate


	2. Teammate

**A/N: I tried to upload this quickly on my way to work, but for some people it didn't work. So I'm uploading it again. Sorry if you get an e-mail update twice! **

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter Two: Teammate

When Green Arrow brought her to the Cave to meet the Team for the first time, Artemis couldn't decide whether she was more excited or nervous. Of course, she made sure that she was as cool as a cucumber on the outside, but inside she was just about ready to burst. What was the Team like? Would they like her? Would she like them? Would she measure up to their skills? Afterall, she was still relatively new to this superhero thing. Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad had been doing this for years.

_Stop_, she told herself. _You are awesome. Stop psyching yourself out._ She was a great archer, and she knew she would be a great addition to the Team. They would be lucky to have her in fact! Green Arrow himself had even been impressed with her skills. Uncle Ollie, as he had told her to call him to keep with their cover story, had assured her that she would fit perfectly with the Team. If she was truthful with herself, maybe she was only nervous about meeting one person: Kid Flash.

She felt so stupid for having the little crush she had on him, but she can't help it. Realistically, she knows that if they're going to be teammates now, she's going to have to get over it. That didn't stop the girly girl part of her, the part that only makes itself known once every blue moon, from making sure that she looked her absolute best today. All through her first introductions to the team, she was looking for him. His signature bright red hair was nowhere to be found, however, and Artemis struggled to keep the disappointment off her face as she met the leader of the team, Aqualad.

"Recognized: Kid Flash, B03."

_Be cool, Artemis. Be cool_, she thought desperately, fighting the urge to smooth down her hair with her hand.

"The Wallman is here!" exclaimed the figure emerging from the zeta tubes, and she got her first look at her superhero idol. Instead of his customary yellow spandex, Kid Flash was dressed in civilian swim trunks and carrying a surprising amount of beach going supplies. "Let's get this party star—"

Artemis watching in a mix of horror and amusement as the young speedster tripped over his own two feet, dropping all of his beach things, and falling into a heap on the floor.

"—ted?" he finished weakly.

The kid had smothered his nose with suntan lotion and had a towel slung over his shoulders. This—this clumsy, beach bum—was Kid Flash? No way, there had to be some mistake. She decided to make her presence known.

"Wallman, huh?" she said, her voice just brimming with sarcasm. "Ah, love the uniform. What _exactly_ are your powers?"

She watched as he picked himself up off the ground and eyed her uncertainly. His cheeks were stained red with embarrassment.

"Uh, who is this?" he asked his, _their_, teammates.

"Artemis, your new teammate," she helpfully supplied.

"Kid Flash," he shot back, taking off his sunglasses. It wasn't an introduction. It seemed like a challenge. "Never heard of you."

So it was him then. One look at his bright green eyes was all the confirmation she needed. Artemis scowled in disappointment. She wasn't quite sure what she had been expecting, but "The Wallman" (what did that even stand for anyway?), was definitely not it.

Green Arrow came to her rescue. "Uhm, she's my new protégé," he told them, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"W-what happened to your old one?" Kid Flash whined, and the expression on his face when he looked at her would have made a weaker person cry, but she was Artemis. Crying wasn't in her DNA.

And then of course, Speedy chose that exact moment to enter the Cave. Him and Green Arrow had their little spat and she only intervened when he brought her into it.

"Can she even use that bow?" he asked derisively.

"Yes, she can," she retorted, stepping right up to him. _I'm probably a better shot then you are_, she had to bite her tongue to keep from saying. Once she got started, there was no stopping her mouth.

"Who are you?" Kid Flash questioned from behind Speedy or Red Arrow, or whatever his stupid name was now.

"I'm his niece."

"She's my niece."

"Another niece?" came Robin, sounding skeptical.

Artemis turned her attention to him. He was the youngest member of the Team, and yet he seemed like he would be the one she would have to be the most careful with. She trusted the Batman to keep her secrets, but Robin wasn't the protégé of the World's Greatest Detective for nothing.

"But she is not your replacement," Aqualad said to Red Arrow. "We have always wanted you on the Team. And we have no quota on archers."

"And if we did, you know who'd we pick," Kid Flash was quick to add.

She was getting tired of his slights. He needed to deal with the fact that she was his teammate now, not Red Arrow. "Whatever, Baywatch," she said, considering the matter closed. "I'm here to stay."

She listened intently as Red Arrow described the nanobytes and the League of Shadows involvement with them. She was proud of herself for not even batting an eye when he said the name of the Shadows. When she thought about how close she had been to almost…_No, focus. Don't think about that. _

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking," she listed, jumping into the conversation. "Yeah, sounds like the Shadows."

"Like you know anything about the Shadows," Kid Flash huffed.

She looked at him and said nothing. _I know stories about the Shadows that would give you nightmares_, she was bursting to say, but instead just smirked at him.

This seemed to infuriate him even more, which made Artemis feel something akin to satisfaction. "Who are you?" he asked again.

She turned back to Red Arrow, but tuned him and Green Arrow out. How could everything have gone so wrong, so quickly? When she had imagined meeting the Team, she hadn't expected them to welcome her with open arms right away, but she never would have envisioned such open hostility, especially from Kid Flash. He always seemed so friendly on the news. Always with a bright grin on his face, shaking hands with civilians, and kissing babies and all that crap that superheroes do. Maybe she was seeing the real Kid Flash now, the immature boy behind the superhero façade.

She couldn't help being disappointed that reality hadn't lived up to her imagination, but she wasn't about to let him or any of them stand in her way. She didn't care if they didn't like her. This wasn't freaking kindergarten. She wasn't there to make friends or play nice with all the other kids. She had come to help people, to help the League, and if they didn't like it, they knew where the door was.

As Red Arrow left the Cave in a huff, Artemis met Kid Flash's eyes. He gave her a harsh glare, which she returned before looking away. Ignoring the pang in her chest, she tried to focus on the task at hand. As far as she knew, they had a mission, and she would do anything within her power to make sure that they succeeded. And if she was able to prove to them that she deserved to be on the Team, so much the better.

* * *

><p>When the mission was over, however, Artemis still felt like she had done nothing to prove that she had earned her spot on the Team. Sure, they had protected Dr. Roquette—to an extent; Artemis was sure the scientist wouldn't be hiring their security services again anytime soon—and they had destroyed the nanobyte technology, but Artemis felt like a failure. The shock of seeing her sister again after 6 years, and finding out that her sister was the assassin they were trying to stop nonetheless, had severely impeded her actions and clouded her judgment. Jade was working for the Shadows, just like their father had always planned, and yet Artemis couldn't understand why. Her sister had left their family in an effort to get away from their father and the way of life he had in store for them. So how had she been pulled back in?<p>

"Are you all right, Artemis?" came the deep, calm voice of Aqualad to her right, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Uh, yeah," she said, trying to gather her wits about her. They were all exiting the bioship and slumping into the foyer of the Cave. "I'm just thinking about the mission."

"You did well today," he told her, giving her a soft smile.

"Thanks, Aqualad," she said, returning the gesture.

"The mission is over," he said. "You may call me by my civilian name, Kal'dur'ahm, or Kal'dur."

"Kal'dur," she said, testing it out. "Artemis is my real name, too."

"Wait, you're superhero name is the same as your real name?" Kid Flash interjected from behind her, causing her to stop walking. "'Cause that makes a lot of sense."

"Who asked you, Flash boy?" she retorted.

"Kid. Flash. Seriously, how hard is that?"

Artemis scoffed. "So, what's _your_ name, then, _Kid Flash_?" she asked, trying to ignore the part of her that was desperate to know the name behind her once superhero idol.

"Hmph, I don't know if I trust you with my secret identity, yet," the speedster said, crossing his arms petulantly.

"His name is Wally," Robin supplied as he walked passed them.

"Dude! Not cool!"

Artemis struggled to contain her laughter. "Wally? You're name is Wally? Oh, _the Wallman_. I get it now. What, did your parents have a Leave It to Beaver obsession or something?"

Kid Flash, Wally, seemed to be muttering death threats under his breath, and his ears had turned bright red. They were alone now, as everyone else had dispersed, either home or to their rooms in the Cave. Artemis couldn't help her laughter, but saw that it was making Wally more than a little embarrassed. He turned to go.

"Wait, wait," she said, taking a chance and grabbing his forearm. "I'm sorry. Wally is a great name. It suits you."

He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to gauge her sincerity. She must have passed the test because his expression softened. "I guess Artemis suits you too, both real and superhero name. Goddess of the hunt, and all that," he said. His eyes widened almost comically after a moment. "Not that I think you're a goddess or anything. Just, you know, the bow and arrow, and stuff."

"Don't burst a brain cell, there," she teased. "I get it. Anyway, I'd better be getting back home."

"Yeah, me too."

The both walked over to the zeta tubes. Before Artemis walked into the one that would take her back to Gotham, Wally called over to her.

"Hey, Artemis. Welcome to the Team."

Artemis smiled. "Thanks."

"Recognized: Kid Flash, B03."

"Recognized: Artemis, B07."

Maybe today hadn't gone so bad after all, she thought to herself as the zeta tube teleported her home.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Yay, chapter 2! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and story alerted this! You're awesome! Please review this time around and hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon! XD

Next chapter: Replacement


	3. Replacement

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 3: Replacement

Wally West was not a happy camper. First of all, he was hungry. Starving in fact. The cafeteria at Keystone High School had served some sort of mystery meat that afternoon for lunch, and the only mystery that Wally found was how the school district was allowed to serve them such an abomination. It was a good thing he kept a large stash of snacks in his locker. Without a sizeable lunch though, his hunger became unbearable once his metabolism kicked in.

So, he had gone to the Cave in search of something to eat. It was just his luck because Megan had been trying out a new recipe and Wally had been more than happy to be a test subject. The way he figured it, the situation benefited him in two ways: one, free food; and two, he got to spend quality time with his favorite Martian.

The only thing that put a damper on this was the fact that the new girl, Artemis, or The Replacement, as Wally thought of her in his head, just so happened to drop in around the same time. And she made Wally…uncomfortable.

It wasn't that he hated her or anything. The only people he hated were villains and bullies. No, he didn't know why he felt the way he did. Their initial meeting had been filled with tension. Maybe if she hadn't called him out in front of his friends, three members of the League, and his crush, he wouldn't have become so defensive, things would be different, but she had.

Plus, and he didn't know why he was the only one that seemed upset about this, she was taking Spee—Red Arrow's spot on the Team! Sure, he had said he didn't want it, but Green Arrow hadn't given Wally, Kaldur, and Robin enough time to convince Roy to join before he went out and got himself a new protégé—a snarky, stubborn, amateur of a protégé at that. And sure, she was mildly attractive and had admittedly one of the hottest bods he'd ever seen that wasn't on a poster or in a magazine, but that was beside the point. Roy was one of his best friends, and as the expression goes: bros before, well, never mind.

Anyway, this girl would not leave him and Megan alone. He couldn't tell if she was doing it on purpose or not, but really there was no way she could have missed his nod to her and then to the door and his gesturing between himself and Miss M. That was a universal sign, wasn't it?

He was beginning to think she was choosing to ignore his hint. She smiled at him, not in a nice way either, in a creepy, challenging kind of way that gave him goosebumps, and turned her attention to Megan.

"What're you making there, M'gann?" the Replacement asked.

"Zucchini casserole!" the Martian girl exclaimed. "I've been trying to improve my cooking, and I found the recipe in a book that Wally gave me!"

"Wow," Artemis mocked subtly, shooting him another delightful smile. "That's so thoughtful of him."

"Thoughtful's my middle name," Wally replied smoothly, ignoring the blonde archer in favor of smiling at Megan.

"Your middle name is really Thoughtful?" Megan asked him, looking perplexed.

Wally blushed and shot a glare at Artemis who had unsuccessfully tried to cover her laugh with a cough. This was the second time the girl had embarrassed him in front of Megan. She was diabolical. Her presence was throwing him off his game.

"Uh, no, it's not really my middle name," Wally admitted. "It's an expression. You know, like 'Danger's my middle name.' Like that."

Megan smiled bashfully, playing with her vibrant red hair. "Oh, I'm afraid I don't know many Earth expressions yet."

"Don't worry," Artemis told her, smiling in her wicked way. "We'll teach you everything you need to know." She looked at Wally for a moment, before looked back at Megan. "Starting with the phrase, 'It takes two to tango.'"

Wally glared at her. She was deliberately making fun of him now. The little harpy knew what she was doing. He would not be beaten though.

"I don't know that one," Megan said uncertainly. "But I think the Tango is a dance, right?"

"Yeah," Wally said, unattentively, staring Artemis down. To her credit, she didn't look away either, her grey glare super intense. "You know what phrase I like better though? 'Two's company and three's a crowd.'"

"I know that one!" Megan exclaimed brightly. She looked between them, noticing that they were staring at each other intently. "Did you two want to be left alone? Is that why you said that one?"

Wally jolted as if struck my lightning. "What? No way!" he all but yelled out.

Artemis snorted and crossed her arms. "As if," she sneered, looking in the opposite direction.

An awkward silence fell over them until it was thankfully interrupted by the timer on the oven.

"Hopefully this will come out better than my other dishes have," Megan said, using her powers to take the casserole out. She set it on the counter and Wally sidled up to her side, trying not to drool. His stomach growled loudly.

"Mmm, smells delicious, babe," he said, taking a deep breath. "Can't wait to taste it—"

"Kid Flash," Red Tornado's robotic voice sounded over the Cave's intercom. "The Flash called and requires your assistance. Report to Central City via zeta tube immediatey."

"Aww, man," Wally whined, looking longingly at the casserole.

"Bad luck there, Wall-man," Artemis teased in that tone he was beginning to despise. "Don't worry, we'll save a plate for you."

Wally narrowed his eyes at her. Joking about food was always a no-no in his eyes. He ignored her and turned to Megan.

"Well, duty calls, Megalicious," he told her regretfully. "Later, beautiful."

He blew her a kiss and would have walked straight past Artemis without saying anything, but he was a gentleman afterall.

"See you later, Replacement."

"Hopefully not, Kid Idiot."

He didn't even spare her a glare. Uncle Barry needed him, so he kicked his super speed into high gear and entered the zeta tube that would take him to Central City. He would have liked to say that his thoughts were on Megan's sweet face as he was teleported, but in his head all he saw was long blonde hair, two almond shaped eyes, and a pair of dark pink lips curved into a mischievous smile. She was diabolical. He would need to be careful around her.

Things would have been a lot simpler if Roy had just joined the Team.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** You all are the best! So much thanks to everyone who has reviewed and put my on their favorites list and put this story on story alert or me on author alert! I'm truly flattered so thank you so much! I'm so glad you all are enjoying this. I'm really enjoying writing it. This chapter's a little short, but I got to have a little fun with it, so I hope you all will like it. Please please review! I'm not really sure what I have coming up next, but if there's anything you would like to see I'll definitely put it on my list. Thanks! XD


	4. Scientist

**A/N: I had THE HARDEST TIME with this chapter. I started out with something completely different and then wrote this last night and I like it better. Basically, what I have besides this is just Denial from Artemis's POV but I don't really like it so I'm not going to post it. This is much more drabbly and shorter than the other chapters, but I think it still works. **

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 3: Scientist

Artemis had only been on the Team for a week and a half before it was rocked by its first death. No, it hadn't been any of the team members, thank god, but Kent Nelson's death was hard for all of them to swallow. They had been deployed by Red Tornado to help him, and instead of bringing him back safe, they had brought back his body. The day of his funeral, it was apparent that no one was taking his death harder than Kid Flash.

Wally had been right there at his side when the old man's body had finally given out. He even admitted that he'd tried to revive Mr. Nelson using CPR but to no avail. Artemis felt for the guy. She ached to reassure him that Mr. Nelson's death was in no way his fault; after all, the man had been 106 years old. She just wasn't sure whether he'd accept it, coming from her. She definitely wasn't his favorite person at the moment after foiling his flirting attempts with Megan during the mission. She couldn't stand to see him moping about the Cave however. Not even Megan's snicker doodle cookies could get him out of his funk. So, Artemis waited until he was alone in the kitchen to try and snap him out of it.

"So, I guess you're a scientist, huh?" she asked, reaching into the fridge and grabbing the milk carton.

"What?" Wally asked, looking around to see who was interrupting his solitude.

"I asked you if you were a scientist," Artemis repeated, grabbing a glass and bringing it over to across where he was sitting. "You said on the mission that you recreated Flash's lab experiment."

"Yeah, that's how I became Kid Flash," Wally said, absentmindedly picking at the sandwich in front of him. Something was obviously wrong with him if he wasn't just inhaling it.

"That must have been pretty hard," Artemis prodded. She thought that if she could just get him to brag about himself, he might open up.

"What can I say, I'm a genius," Wally said, but without his usual gusto.

"Well, I know who I'll be bringing my biology homework to next time I need a tutor," Artemis joked. She took a large gulp of milk to hide her embarrassment. _Oh god, I'm flirting with him. Stop it, Artemis, stop it! Just get to the point of the conversation._

Wally looked at her suspiciously. "Did Robin put you up to this?" he asked. "Did he tell you to come and try and make me feel better?"

"What? No!"

Wally sighed, pushing his plate away from him. "Everyone's been walking eggshells around me since the funeral this morning," he told her.

"Well, you've been looking a little depressed," Artemis pointed out. Her tactics weren't really working, so she decided to just go for the blunt approach. "You know, Wally, no one blames you for what happened to Mr. Nelson. There was nothing you could have done. He was old. These things happen."

Wally looked up at her and seemed like he was going to protest for second, but the words died in his throat. He looked back down at his half-eaten sandwich. "I know. If anything, it's magic's fault again."

Oh here we go, Artemis thought, trying not to roll her eyes. She had heard enough of Wally's opinion on magic during the mission. At least he was finally talking about it though.

"Why do you think that?" she asked.

"If he hadn't had to exert all that effort to protect us from Klarion, maybe he wouldn't have been weakened so much," Wally explained.

Artemis was confused. "Wait, so are you saying you do believe in magic?" His hesitation was all the answer she needed, but she remembered his stubborn refusal to believe the other day in his souvenir room. "What changed between today and the other day?"

"I've had a couple days to think about what Mr. Nelson said. Right before I put the helmet on, he said to me, 'Have faith in what you can't explain. Believe in what you can no longer deny,'" Wally recited. He shrugged. "Yes, a lot of things can be explained by science, but there are some things that are just illogical, like magic. I'm not about to enroll at Hogwarts or anything, but his words stuck with me. All of them," he added softly and the look he gave her made her blush inexplicably.

She cleared her throat and downed the rest of her milk. Suddenly seeming to have a ravenous appetite, Wally devoured the rest of his sandwich in 3 large gulps.

"So, all these Harry Potter references," Artemis said after a few moment's silence. "You seem like a bit of a fan. Who's your favorite character?"

"Ron, obviously," Wally replied. "He's the man. Besides, us gingers have to stick together."

"Huh, I've always been more of a Hermione fan…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Yeah, that's it. Next chapter should be a lot longer. Also, everyone should go read my one-shot '**Spitfire**' because it will eventually be a part of this story. It was out of order chronologically, so I didn't want to post it here.

I'm thinking about changing the name of this story to "Our Own Way," so don't be surprised if you see that show up in you e-mail instead of the current title. If you think I shouldn't change it, please let me know!

Thank you soooo much to everyone who's reviewed and put this on their favorite's list or story alert! You all keep me motivated! If you're on Tumblr, please follow me! My url is these-are-my-obsessions so find me! Sometimes I post previews of the next chapter XD

Next Chapter: Flirt (four times Wally flirted with other girls, and one time he flirted with Artemis)


	5. Flirt

**A/N: I know I said it would be four times Wally flirted with other girls, but I changed it to three. I had lots of fun writing this, so I hope you all enjoy it! This is set right before Bereft. :-)**

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 3: Flirt (OR three times Wally flirted with other girls, and one time he flirted with Artemis)

After a little less than a month of being on the Team, Artemis was coming to accept that some things were a constant: Kaldur was the calming voice of reason; M'gann always liked to try out a new recipe before a mission; Robin was a sneaky little troll; Superboy had some slight anger management issues; and, last but not least, Wally was a flirt. In fact, look up the word flirt in the dictionary and you might find a picture of a pale, ginger kid looking up at you with suggestive eyes. Not that Artemis had ever been on the receiving end of those eyes; no, because it seemed like the only girl Wally didn't flirt with was her.

She didn't know whether to be hurt by this or be angry, so she went with the easier of the two: angry.

Artemis tried not to think about it when she entered the Cave that day. She'd just gotten into an argument with her mother again about attending Gotham Academy (they made you wear a _uniform_, yuck), and as such, she was not in the greatest of moods. The foyer of the mountain was empty so Artemis made her way to the kitchen in hopes of finding someone there. To her surprise, she found all of her teammates there, huddled around a laptop.

"What's going on?" she asked, wondering if something had happened on the news.

"Oh, good," Wally said, and if that wasn't enough to make her suspect something was up, she didn't know what would. "You're just in time for my debut."

"Your debut?" she repeated, crowing around the laptop with them. She watched as Wally clicked on a link. "This can't be your TV debut. You're been on the news before."

"How would you know?" Robin asked smirking.

Troll. She felt her cheeks flush, but kept her edge. "It's not like I live under a rock," she said. "I've seen Flash boy here on the news."

"This is way better than that," Wally insisted, enlarging the video so it filled the whole screen. "Now everyone pipe down. It's loading."

After a moment the video started. It was clearly some sort of amateur newscast by the looks of it. A pretty, young Asian girl stood in front of the camera, holding a microphone. In the background was what looked like a typical high school.

"This is Linda Park reporting for Keystone High News. Today we are truly honored to have with us, Central City's own teenage superhero, Kid Flash," the girl said, and the camera zoomed out to show Wally in his Kid Flash uniform standing beside her. He smiled and saluted at the camera nonchalantly. "Thanks so much for joining us today."

"The pleasure is all mine, babe," Kid Flash said, winking at her.

Linda Park giggled in a high-pitched way that made Artemis want to strangle her. Nearby Robin struggled to control his own laughter.

"Now, Kid—do you mind if I call you Kid?" Linda asked suddenly.

"All my friends do," Kid Flash teased.

Linda blushed prettily before continuing. "Well, Kid, inquiring minds at Keystone High would like to know: what's it like working with The Flash?"

"The Flash is a great guy," he said. "He's really the inspiration for everything that I've accomplished."

"And just what is it like being the fastest kid alive?"

"It's amazing, you know. I get to use my powers to help fight crime. I can't think of anything else I'd rather do with them. Except for maybe this…"

In an instant Kid Flash was gone and then back, now holding a bouquet of flowers that he presented to a gushing Linda. Artemis scowled.

"Wow, thank you! Oh my gosh, how thoughtful!"

"Thoughtful is my—" Wally started, before stopping suddenly. "I mean, you're welcome."

"So, Kid," Linda simpered. "Just for the record, do you, uh, have a girlfriend?"

"Sadly, no," Kid Flash said, putting on a sad face. "Still looking for the right girl."

Kid Flash looked at something off camera. "Sorry, Linda, that's all the time I have today. Catch ya later!"

"Wait! I didn't get to give you my—" Linda started to say, but the young speedster was already gone. "—number."

Linda turned back to the camera full on and composed herself. "Well, you heard it here first," Linda reported. "Kid Flash is single and looking!"

In the background of the shot, Wally, now dressed in his civvies with a baseball cap covering his bright hair, had inched into the frame and was waving at the camera obnoxiously.

"This is Linda Park for Keystone High News, signing off."

The video didn't stop rolling there however. Linda looked behind her and spied Wally lurking. "Did you ruin my shot, West? If you did, so help me—"

Finally the video cut and they were left looking at a blank black screen. Wally turned to them all, grinning broadly.

"Well?" he asked. "How awesome was that? My own school did a news story on _me!_ Without anyone _knowing _it was me!"

"Aren't you worried about your secret identity?" M'gann asked worriedly.

Wally shrugged. "Nah, you saw Linda," he said. "She had no idea it was me."

Artemis rolled her eyes. Before anyone else could say anything, Black Canary strolled in, wearing a curve hugging little black dress. Wally let out a whistle.

"I didn't know we were going out tonight, gorgeous. Give me a second to change. I'll be back in a flash."

"Funny, Wally," Dinah deadpanned. "None of you will be going anywhere tonight. Batman has a mission for you. It looks like it might be overnight, so he told me to make sure you're all ready."

"We always make sure to have supplies back for emergencies," Kaldur told her. "Did Batman give any indication to what the mission would pertain?"

"You know Batman," Dinah said. "He didn't exactly give me many details. But, you all seem like you're prepared, and I have somewhere to be. Good luck."

As quickly as she had appeared, Dinah was striding out of the kitchen.

"Man, if I was 10 years older, I would so love to—"

Before Wally could finish his sentence, Artemis elbowed him in the ribs. Robin snickered.

"Hey!"

"Would it kill you to show a little respect?" she asked him.

Wally mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "little harpy killjoy" and sped away. Artemis chose to be the bigger person and ignore him.

The oven timer dinged and M'gann hurried over to take out whatever was in there. Instead of using her powers to take out the tray, she used a pair of oven mitts.

"Snicker doodle cookies," the Martian girl proclaimed, brandishing the tray to the closest person to her. "Careful, Superboy, they're hot!"

Superboy took one, seemingly unconcerned. Wally, of course, chose that exact moment to speed back over, swiping the cookie out of Superboy's hand.

"Not as hot as you, babe," Wally cheesed, before tossing the cookie into his mouth.

"Thanks, Wally," M'gann said uncertainly. "That's, uh, sweet."

Even with his mouth half full, the idiot couldn't resist spewing out one of his stupid one-liners. "Not as sweet as you, sugar!"

Artemis couldn't restrain herself. "Oh, grow up!" she said, smacking the speedster on the back of the head. She went to take a cookie as well and tried to ignore the glare Wally was sending her.

"Team, report to the Mission Room," Batman's voice came over the loudspeaker.

They all exchanged serious glances before heading one by one out of the kitchen. Artemis was one of the last ones out. At the door she turned to see Wally swiping as many cookies as he could and sighed, shaking her head. She continued on her way wondering what fun mission the Batman would have in store for them.

* * *

><p>She was floating in the black oblivion of unconsciousness when she heard a voice. His voice. Whose voice, she wasn't exactly sure, but it was familiar.<p>

"Hey, Beautiful," the voice said softly. "Wake up."

Later, when she looked back on the whole Bialya thing, she would think how typical it was that he only flirted with her when he didn't know who she was…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **You like? If so, please let me know! Also, please let me know if I you think any of my writing could use improvement. Thanks so much again to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, story alerted, and author alerted! You all are the best!

Please let me know if there's anything you would particularly like to see. Next chapter will be set during Bialya. Would you like to see Wally's POV, Artemis' POV, or both? Leave a review and let me know! :-)


	6. Stranger

**A/N: Sooo, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Wally's POV is always fun. Anyway, this is set during Bereft and begins a little bit before the very end of Chapter 5. I always love writing what goes on behind the scenes, so this is how I think Wally and Artemis ended up in the shack in the beginning. Hope you all enjoy! Please review!**

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 6: (Beautiful) Stranger

His stomach was what woke him at first, but being hungry when he first woke up in the morning was nothing new for Wally. A stifling heat surrounded him and he had a splitting headache. Groaning, he opened his eyes only to shut them tight against the blinding light. Instead of a soft pillow beneath his head, his cheek lay against a hard rock. Slowly, he opened his eyes again and used his hand to shield against the light, which he now realized was the sun. His eyes widened with shock as his surroundings came into focus. The only thing around him for miles and miles was sand.

_What the hell?_ He thought to himself, idly brushing sand off of his body. _Where am I? Why don't I remember how I got here?_ He slowly pushed himself off of the ground, surveying the area suspiciously. Wally looked himself over, and became even more confused when he realized the uniform he was wearing wasn't his customary Kid Flash yellow and red, but black. _And why am I wearing _this_?_

"Okay, keep cool, Wally," he said to himself. "Just try and remember where you were last."

Try as he might though, he couldn't come up with anything. His brain was unusually fuzzy and the heat and his hunger were not helping. By the look of the sun, it was probably about 10 o'clock. The temperature would just be rising, and Wally would be roasted alive if he didn't find shelter soon. He pulled his goggles down, picked a direction, and started running.

He wasn't going for long when he came upon her. She was in the shadow of a rock formation, but her bright green clothing and long blonde hair stuck out like a sore thumb. Never one to leave a damsel in distress, Wally skidded to a halt by her unconscious form. The first thing he noticed was the potentially threatening bow and slew of arrows that were slung across her back. The second was that she was gorgeous. _Maybe there's an upside to this memory loss thing…_

He deduced that she was around his age and seemed to be wearing a superhero get up too. _Looks like a Green Arrow fan_, he thought taking into account her uniform and her equipment. _Maybe we came here together._

Without much internal debate he gingerly scooped her up into his arms, gratified when she didn't wake up. "Come on, babe," he said softly. "Let's go find some shelter."

He sped off again, unburdened by her slight weight. He tried to keep track of where he was going but couldn't help his eyes when they wandered to her face. He knew he'd never seen her before; he would have remembered a face like hers, he was sure. She had tan, olive skin with dark pink lips, and he knew that the golden hair that was flying over his shoulder had to reach down to her waist. She was beautiful, and, not to be a total creep, but she had one rockin' bod.

He was running for a few minutes when he came upon a small hut. He slinked closer, cradling the girl in his arms carefully. Peeking in the window, he saw that it was empty and shouldered his way inside through the curtained doorway. He didn't see any furniture in the small one room, so he set the beautiful stranger on the ground. There wasn't much to see inside. No water, no lighting, certainly no five-course meal, just some old crates and boxes. He sighed, wondering again how he had gotten here, wherever _here_ was. Sure, sometimes weird things happened when he was on duty with the Flash, like that time he'd been trapped in Mirror Master's mirror landscape, but this was a little extreme.

He turned to look at the girl on the ground. Maybe she had some idea of how this had happened. He crouched down and gently shook her shoulder.

"Hey. Beautiful. Wake up."

The girls stirred and let out a groan. She opened her eyes and sat up, a hand going to rest on her head. He gave her what he hoped was a non-creepy smile so she wouldn't be freaked out, but no dice. As soon as she saw him, her eyes widened in shock and she let out a terrified gasp, shooting up so fast that she was against the wall of the hut within seconds. Her hands grasped her bow to her body tightly.

"It's okay, it's okay," Wally hurried to reassure her. "I won't hurt you. I'm one of the good guys. You know, _Kid Flash_."

She remained uncertain, her grey eyes piercing him intensely. "Seen Kid Flash on the news," she said. "He doesn't wear black."

Wally grimaced. "A little unclear about that myself," he admitted. He tried to smile at her charmingly. "What about you? Green Arrow fixation?"

The girl looked down at herself in alarm. "Who put me in this?" she cried.

_Awkward._ "Wow, I am not touching that with a ten foot, uh—"_ More awkward, Wallman. _"So, you know how to use that bow?" he asked suddenly, helping to get on more comfortable ground.

"Yeah, my dad taught me," she whispered. Suddenly, she seemed to grow angry. "Dad. He must have done this," she fumed, looking down at her bow. "Another one of his stupid tests."

"What kind of test?" he asked curiously.

"He probably wants me to kill you," the girl said, so matter-a-factly that Wally almost didn't comprehend what she was saying. Almost.

_Whoa, so not good. What are all the hot ones crazy?_

Suddenly there was a noise whistling through the air. The both looked up at the same time, before Wally had the sense to grab her hand and flee the hut. It wasn't a moment too soon as the hut exploded the second they were outside. The force of the explosion caused Wally to lose his grip on her hand as the two were flung a few yards away. They landed on the sand next to each other and looked back to find a hummer and three tanks in the distance, past their decimated shelter.

_This keeps getting weirder and weirder_, Wally thought, as he and Blondie, as he had taken to calling the strange beauty in his head, made a run for it.

Bullets flew overhead, and missiles exploded nearby as they ran side by side. Wally had to hold off using his powers until he could safely grab her. She totally took him by surprise when she somersaulted and came up with one arrow nocked and aimed right at the hummer behind them. She let go and the arrow exploded right in the sand in front of the car, flipping it over and sending it careening over Wally's head. Wally looked at her in amazement. _Dude, she's not just hot, she's a bad ass!_

The tanks were now making their displeasure known and were firing on all cylinders. Blondie had taken cover behind some rocks and was returning their fire. Wally could see they were outnumbered though, and no matter how good of an archer the girl was, her arrows wouldn't stand a chance against those tanks. He pulled his goggles down and sped over to her, hooking one arm around her legs and another around her back. She gasped at the suddenness of his movement, but hooked her arms around his neck. He turned in the opposite direction and really kicked into high gear.

A few missiles exploded behind him and he breathed a sigh of relief that he'd gotten her out of there when he did. He could feel her pulling back to look at him, but didn't know if she was upset with him or not.

"Sorry, they've got bigger arrows!" he reasoned, zigzagging to keep the tanks from getting a clear shot of them. He pulled her closer and ran faster still as more explosions occurred around them.

Finally, they seemed to have gotten far enough away. Blondie pulled back from his chest slightly.

"Thanks," she said, their faces close together. Her eyes and her whole demeanor were solemn, and despite the situation they were in, Wally thought he would do anything in the world just to see her smile. He knew it would make her even more beautiful than she already was.

"Hey, I told you: good guy," he reminded her. "Now, uh, not to pry or anything, but, uh, what's your name? And what's this about you killing me?"

He was completely fascinated with her, which is why he hoped her answer to the second question was something along the lines of, 'Oh, I was totally joking about that.'

"I'm Artemis," she told him, averting her eyes and clearly not addressing the second question. Wally decided that, though he was burning with part curiosity and part dread, he wouldn't pry.

"Artemis," Wally echoed. "Greek goddess of the hunt, right? Well, you've definitely got the goddess part right, beautiful."

He watched as her cheeks flushed and a slight smile lit up her face. "You really are something, _Kid Flash_," she teased.

"Glad we agree on that, babe," he said. "Now, I don't know about you, but I don't remember how I got here, wherever we are. Any ideas?"

She shook her head, but he had a feeling she wasn't being truthful. He knew he should be suspicious of her after what she said, but he just couldn't. Somehow he knew that she wasn't a bad guy. No one that beautiful could ever be a bad guy. If that made him naïve, so be it.

"Those soldiers, though," she piped up. "I recognized them. They were Bialyan Republican Guards."

"Bialya? How the heck did I get to Bialya?" Wally asked.

"I don't know," she replied, resting her head against his shoulder.

He pulled her closer, sensing she needed some comfort. "Don't worry, Artemis," he said. "I promise we'll figure this out, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

He felt a surge of protectiveness for this girl he'd never met before. Sure, now that he'd seen her in action, he knew she was no damsel in distress, but that didn't mean she didn't need him. Everyone needed someone, and seeing as how it was just the two of them out here, it was up to him to make sure that nothing happened to her. He continued running across the hot sand, hoping they would find something, anything that would explain what they were both doing here.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I'm going to stop there. The next chapter is called Target and will pick up where this chapter ends with Artemis' POV. I'll hopefully get started writing that either tonight or tomorrow so I'm going to say it'll be up by Saturday or Sunday at the lastest.

Also, Artemis may seem a little girly/weak right at the end there, but there's a reason for that which will be explained in the next chapter :-)

Again, just want to say a big thanks to everyone reviewing! You guys are so sweet and all your comments make me laugh! Thanks so much for your continued support and please keep reviewing! I love to hear your thoughts as this progresses and I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying it. Thanks also to everyone who's put this story on alert, favorited it, or put me on author alert!

Anyway, please review! XD

Next chapter: Target


	7. Target

**A/N: So this picks up right where we left off in Chapter 6 except in Artemis' POV! I hope you guys like my interpretation of what she's thinking throughout this part of the episode! Please review! XD**

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

_Chapter 7: Target_

Sometimes Artemis thought her calling in life was acting or maybe card playing; No one had a better poker face than she did. Outwardly she appeared to be solemn and calm, but inwardly she was freaking out. Thank goodness Kid Flash seemed entirely engrossed in speeding along the sand dunes or he would have noticed how tense she was in his arms.

When she had first woken up in that shack with him, she had thought she was dreaming. After all, it wasn't every day you find yourself in a room with you superhero crush/idol. And then she realized she wasn't dreaming, far from it actually since it was more like her nightmares. She knew her father had to be behind this. But how had he found out about her crush on Kid Flash? She had been so careful to not even _think_ his name around Lawrence. And now here she was, in a desert in Bialya, and Kid Flash was her target. She never thought she could hate her father as much as she did right now.

She wouldn't do it; she couldn't do it. Kid Flash had been so nice to her from the moment she had woken up. Normally if someone tried to protect her she would kick their ass, but it was different with him. She felt a connection. He seemed to, dare she even think it, _like_ her. He kept calling her beautiful. No one, not even that boy in her class she'd briefly date last year, had ever called her that. And the way he pulled her closer as he ran combined with the sincere gleam in his green eyes when he told her that they'd figure this out; she'd never been treated so…delicately before.

It was refreshing.

But she had to remain indifferent. If her father was behind this, he was sure to be nearby watching her every move. They had been on the move for sometime before she felt Kid Flash slow down a hair before skidding to a half and letting go of her. The minute he let her down, he was doubled over, panting with exertion.

"Sorry," he gasped out, swiping at his forehead. "Running on empty. Don't think I've eating in a while." He opened a compartment in the forearm area of his uniform. "Been out here over 24 hours or my cupboards wouldn't be bare."

A noise whistled through the air coming from above them and Artemis instinctually moved out of the way, Kid Flash doing the same. It wasn't a bomb this time however, but a shirtless boy. Before either of them could react, the crazed boy smacked Kid Flash with such strength that he sent the speedster flying into a rock formation near them.

Artemis barely had a second to see if the kid was okay before the seemingly super strong boy turned in her direction. She was ready for him though. She executed a neat back flip before extending her bow again and pelting the boy with arrow after arrow. He kept on charging her however, as though the exploding arrows were merely a nuisance. She finally had the sense to duck and roll away from him. He screamed with rage and that was when the missile hit him.

Artemis was unfortunately caught in the blast zone of the missile. The force of the explosion knocked her face down some ten feet away. _Just what in the hell is going on here?_ Artemis asked herself. _Dad's really gone all out this time…_ She lay there in a daze for a few seconds before grabbing her bow. In front of her, she watched as the feral boy jumped to the tanks and proceeded to dismantle them even while being peppered with machine gun fire.

She couldn't deny that she was seriously freaked out now. She felt Kid Flash come up behind her and felt a surge of relief wash over her that he wasn't hurt.

"Whose side is he on?" she asked as he came to stand next to her.

"You wanna stick around and find out?" he retorted. They exchanged looks before he wordlessly picked her up again and started running in the opposite direction. Her arms wove themselves around his neck and she fought off the rising feeling of safety that she felt as he carried her. He held her carefully like he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Unfortunately, at that moment Kid Flash tripped over a rock as he ran them downhill. She tumbled out of his arms and struggled to keep hold of her collapsed bow as they both plummeted down the hot sand. Finally, the land leveled out. Her vision was dizzy and clouded when she stood up, Kid Flash doing the same, but she didn't miss the two planes flying over them. As she and Kid Flash watched, the ships changed course and flew back towards them.

_Not good!_ Artemis thought in alarm. The planes sent a volley of bullets their way.

"Get down!" Kid Flash yelled even as she was ducking for cover. He dropped into the sand beside her and placed a protective hand on the small of her back.

Luckily, the planes' missiles didn't hit them and they flew over their heads again. _This may be our only chance!_ Artemis thought, extending her bow. She pulled an arrow out of her quiver and took aim for the ships. _If I position it right I might be able to get them both_, she thought as the ships started back towards them. She concentrated on her aim and was in the midst of firing when—

_Don't worry, I'm almost there!_ a girl's voice said in her head.

Her arrow completely missed the plans as some invisible force stopped it.

"Did you just hear a girl talking in your head?" she asked Kid Flash frantically.

"Girls are always on my mind," Kid Flash told her, grinning. "But they're not usually talking."

"Seriously?" she said incredulously. Here they were fighting for their lives and he wanted to make jokes.

The two of them watched as the planes crashed into each other. It didn't look like an accident to Artemis. It looked like someone had forced the planes together. But who had that kind of power? Out of the smoke came flying a green-skinned girl with red hair, wearing something similar to the Martian Manhunter's superhero costume. She flew down and landed on the sand in front of them.

"Well, J'onn, the costume looks, _familiar,_" Kid Flash started. "But I'm not sure the new bod screams 'Manhunter.'"

"You know my Uncle J'onn?" the apparently Martian girl asked hopefully. "Hello, Megan! Of course you do! You're Kid Flash, Wally! And you're Artemis!"

Artemis had so many thoughts running through her head that she could hardly keep track of them. First was: Wally? That can't really be his name_._ Second was: How did this girl, who she'd never, ever seen in her life, know her name? She was starting to think that maybe something else besides her father was at work here.

"Wait, wait, wait," the young speedster said, obviously unnerved, too. "Martian Manhunter's your uncle? Is that how you know my name?" he added in a whisper.

"Your name's really Wally?" Artemis asked him. Seriously, did his parents have a Leave It to Beaver obsession or something?

He hung his head pitifully. "Ohh…"

"It's okay," the girl, Megan(?) assured him. "We're teammates. Friends. I made you cookies!"

Wait, what? "You know her?" she asked Kid Flash, or Wally, one hand on her hip. She couldn't help the jealous tone of her voice.

She almost laughed as Kid—Wally tripped over himself to reassure her. "No, I swear, beautiful. Never seen her before in my life! At least not that I know of," he added.

The Martian girl sighed. "You both lost your memories, too. Come on. I'll fill you in as we go. Robin and Superboy need our help."

She started walking and Artemis followed. Normally, she wouldn't be so trusting of people she'd just met, but with Wally and Megan she just knew that she could trust them.

"Of course, Robin and Super-what now?" she distantly heard Kid Flash say behind her.

As they walked she tried to get her thoughts in order, but her mind was reeling. According to Megan, she was on their team, a team of teenaged superheroes it seemed if they, Robin, and this Superboy kid were any indication. But Artemis couldn't fathom the how or why of it. How had she even been noticed by them to become a member? Did they know about her father being the criminal Sportsmaster or her mother being the ex-con Huntress?

And even worse thought occurred to her, and she literally stopped in her tracks. What if she was on the team as a spy for the Shadows? What if her father was forcing (because there was no way in hell she would do it of her own free will) her to pass information on the team to him?

"Hey, you okay, beautiful?"

Standing directly in front of her stood Kid—Wally, looking at her in concern.

She scrambled to come up with something. "Yeah, it's just, uh, a lot to process," she told him, which was actually the truth.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, but brightened up after a moment. "But I _told_ you we'd figure this out. And I'm sure we'll have our memories back in no time."

_And what's going to happen after that?_ she thought, but didn't dare say out loud.

"Yeah, you're right," she said instead, giving him a slight smile.

"Of course I am," he teased.

And then there was a moment. He was looking at her. She was looking at him. She realized that there was only a small gap between them. He made a move as if to bring his hand to cup her face. _Oh my gosh, is he going to kiss me?_

"Artemis!" Came Megan's frantic voice, jolting them out of their moment. "Kid Flash! I can feel Robin nearby! I think he's being attacked!"

Kid Flash pulled his goggles down and scooped her up again, speeding after the flying Martian girl.

"You know, I have two feet," Artemis argued half-heartedly. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest after their almost-kiss. "I _can_ run on my own."

"Not as fast as I can though," was his retort.

Darkness had descended upon the desert at that point. Megan had stopped on top of a large sand dune and that was where Kid Flash put her down. Below them, they watched as Robin fought off what had to be 10 Bialyan guards. Although she lived in Gotham, (at least, she thought she still did) she had never seen either the Batman or his partner Robin in action. Artemis had to admit, the kid was definitely holding his own; at least, until the machine guns came out.

Suddenly, Kid Flash was gone from her side and down in the clearing. She watched as he stole all the guns away from each other guards before proceeding to knock them out with super speed punches. He even took one guy and swung him around a few times before throwing him into a pair of goons, knocking them out. Artemis was impressed, to say the least. _There's one getting away!_ She plucked out one arrow, aimed and fired at him, satisfied when the arrow exploded and wrapped the guard up in rope. Wally gave her a thumbs up before turning to Robin. She started down the sand towards them.

"KF!" the Boy Wonder cried, grasping Wally's hand. "Man, it's good to see a familiar face!"

"Hey, Rob," Wally greeted warmly. The two obviously knew each other well, Artemis noticed. "Memory loss?"

"Six months!" Robin replied. "Let's hog tie these creeps and compare notes."

Wally introduced both Megan and Artemis to Robin, and the four of set about getting all of the guards tied up together before powwowing a few yards away from them.

"I woke up this morning with no memory at all of how I got here," Robin told them. "But according to my computer, it's September."

"September?" Kid Flash repeated as Artemis' own mind reeled. "Aww, man, that means I'm back in school already. So much for summer vacation."

"So, we're a Team?" Robin asked.

"The four of us and Superboy," Megan explained.

"Then this must be his," Robin said, pulling out a black piece of cloth with a red S on it and handing it to Megan.

"Yes!" Megan exclaimed. "Did you see him?"

Then it dawned on Artemis. "I think we did," she said, turning to Wally. She could feel the frustration rising within her. She wanted her memory back. She wanted to know who she was. Most of all, she wanted to know that she wasn't a spy.

"Feral boy?" Wally pondered. "Some teammate. He attacked us."

"He didn't know we are," she reminded him, loosing her cool. "_I_ don't know who we are!"

"I remember Batman ordering radio silence," Robin said suddenly. "Our team must work for him!"

"And how do you know we don't work for my mentor?" Wally asked, touching his chest. As he did, the black material changed to yellow, and he was back in his regular Kid Flash uniform. "Whoa. This is so cool!" He switched back to black and then again to yellow.

_Do I have that?_ Artemis thought, touching her chest a couple times. Nothing happened though. "We look ridiculous!" she exclaimed, noticing Robin doing the same thing with similar results. Wally though, seemed to be having too much fun. She was getting more and more frustrated and when she got frustrated, sometimes (most of the time) she got bitchy. "Quit touching yourself!"

Wally gave her a wounded puppy dog look that she rolled her eyes at before switching his uniform back to black. "We need our memories back," she reasoned.

In front of them, Megan put her fingers to her temples and her eyes started glowing. Suddenly, her, Wally and Robin weren't in Bialya anymore, but a purple plane made of shimmery light and what looked like images of them all flashing everywhere.

Megan appeared before them. "I've brought you into my mind to share what I've remembered so far," she told them'. "But I need your help. Together our broken memories can form a whole if you open your minds to mine."

"You want to pop through our private thoughts?" Artemis snapped defensively. What if she found out about her father and her mother? What if she really was a spy? They would all turn on her. All of them.

"I have no wish to intrude but—," she started.

"You need to hack our minds to get what happened to us," Robin interrupted. "Got it. Go."

"My brain's all yours," Wally said to her left. "Try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you."

"Or _underwhelm_ you," she distantly heard Robin retort. "Hey, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"

Artemis didn't know what to do. She was totally against this, even to get their memories back, but she was outnumbered. A movement to her left caught her eye. Wally came next to her and grasped her hand in his. On the outside, she was cool, but on the inside she was bursting with emotion from this one simple gesture. Except it wasn't simple to her. It meant everything. He was looking at her with such tenderness and earnestness that she couldn't help but give in. She knew that he would be by her side every step of the way.

"The last six months only," she told Megan. "And only what you need."

She looked back at Wally one last time before Megan reached out to their minds, and he was looking back at her.

And then they got their memories back. And she remembered how much he hated her. Her heart never hurt so bad as when they tore their hands out of each other's grip.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Aren't they cute? Did everyone watch Auld Acquaintance? OUR OTP IS AWESOME GUYS AND I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE THAT PART I AM JUST SO EXCITED I'M A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION!

Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter! Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed! You all make my day with your comments! Please keep reviewing! You all keep me motivated! XD

Next chapter will again pick up where this one left off. I think it might be called (Ninja) Boyfriend and in Artemis's POV. IDK though, are you guys Berefted out? Too much Bereft? Should I move on? Let me know!

Also, I changed my tumblr name to findyourownlittlespitfire. More appropriate, dontcha think? Anyway, follow me! XD


	8. Boyfriend

**A/N: I got a couple mixed reactions to what I should do for this chapter, but I decided that the ninja boyfriend thing had to be written so this is what I came up with. Wally's POV! Enjoy :-)**

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

_Chapter 8: (Ninja) Boyfriend_

He keeps looking at her out of the corner of his eye. They've been dragging Aqualad's unconscious body halfway across the desert, at least it seems that way to him, for at least an hour or so. And the whole time he's been sneaking glances at her when he thinks she's not looking.

He's just really…confused. Miss M had pieced back together their memories and now he remembers: he remembers how much of a pain she is, how she'd taken Roy's place on the Team, how she thinks she's so awesome. But he also remembers the vulnerability in her eyes when she first woke up, how protective of her he'd felt. How beautiful he thought she was. And she is beautiful, he thinks, looking at her again as she tugs Aqualad along. To be sure, Wally has never thought she was bad looking, he had just never seen her in that way before. He can't help but recall the way she felt in his arms as he held her or the look in her grey eyes when he'd almost kissed her.

_Ugh, yuck! Get a grip, Wally,_ he tells himself. _This is Artemis, Queen of the Harpies_. _She gets on your nerves and vice versa. _

What had made today so different though? They had lost their memories and had no recollection of their first meeting, which, if Wally is honest with himself, was kind of hostile. And yes, maybe if they had met under better circumstances and he didn't think she was taking Roy's spot on the Team, he would have been a little nicer to her, probably would've flirted with her, but she had. And first impressions were everything in his opinion. This little…incident changed nothing. Nothing at all.

Involuntarily, his eyes slowly slide over to her, and this time she catches him looking.

"Would you stop that?" she snaps through gritted teeth.

"Stop what?" he asks, deciding to play dumb.

"Stop staring at me or glaring at me or whatever it is you're doing," she replies.

"Hey, I can look wherever I want," he retorts, well aware that this really is not helping his case. "It's a free country."

"Actually, it's not," she points out infuriatingly.

"Would you two quit it?" Robin asks, choosing that moment to interject. "I'm pretty sure all of Bialya can hear you."

_Being chastised by a 13-year-old is the pits, _he thinks before very maturely sticking his tongue out at Artemis, who scowls back at him in return.

Artemis really wouldn't be so bad if she didn't call him out on his crap all the time. No one else does it, (except for maybe Dick but that's what a best friend is for) so he really doesn't see why she needs to. Artemis never lets him get away with anything.

Unbidden, Kent Nelson's words come to his mind. _Find your own little spitfire. One who won't let you get away with nothin'…_Not for the first time Wally thinks to himself, _could Artemis be that girl?...Nah. _He pushes the thought to the back of his mind where he hopes it will stay.

In front of them, Robin stops suddenly. "Quick, over there!" he urges.

Wally and Artemis follow him around a huge sand dune and lay Aqualad against the sand carefully. Just in time, too. A car full of Bialyan guards drives right down the path of where they had been walking. It's just their luck that the guards stop the car and get out on foot.

Suddenly, a delirious Kaldur starts murmuring in Atlantean and Wally is sure that they'll be found out. The three of them look on in concern. Artemis rests a hand on the boy's forehead and Wally feels an inexplicable pang in his chest.

"Shh, Kaldur," she soothes. "Quiet now."

Robin peeks around their hiding place before crouching back down next to them. "We can't risk a fire fight with Aqualad KO'ed like this."

Wally let out a deep breath. "It's not just him," he admits, looking from Robin to Artemis. He feels so tired. And hungry. Hungrier than he thinks he's ever been in his life. "I'm way out of juice."

"And I'm almost out of arrows," Artemis says, showing them her nearly empty quiver.

They get no response from Robin who seems to have literally disappeared into thin air. "Ugh, I forgot how much I hate it when he does the ninja thing," Wally sighs. He realizes that the two of them are alone, if you don't count Aqualad, for the first time since they've gotten their memories back. One question has really been burning in the back of his mind ever since then. "Hey, you never said why you dad would want you to _tchhh_ me," he says, making a throat slitting gesture.

She avoids his gaze. "I, uh, got confused by, some old movie that I saw the other night," she started, turning away from him. His eyes narrow in suspicion. She sounded…nervous. "About a ninja girl whose ninja dad ordered her to, kill her ninja boyfriend because he was from a rival ninja clan!"

_That sounds like some stupid story I would come up with_, Wally thinks, but grasps on to the important part of her flustered sentence. "Sooo, I'm your ninja boyfriend, huh?" he asks, grinning.

The look on her face when she turns back to him makes him instantly regret his words. "Hey, _amnesia,_ remember?" she reminds him, scathingly. "Completely forgot how truly annoying you are."

"Oh, like you're the Goddess of Congeniality!" he retorts. Their faces are close together and he can't help but think of that afternoon when all he wanted was to kiss her.

"Yeesh, get a room!" Robin says, suddenly reappearing like he hadn't even left.

"Dude! Where were you?" Wally asks, deciding to ignore what his friend had said.

Robin smirks. "Breaking radio silence."

Sure enough, static fills the air before they hear Rob's signature cackle. An explosion goes off behind the sand dune and Robin signals them. "That's our cue! Move!"

The three of them hurry away as fast as they can with Artemis and Wally pulling Kaldur's makeshift sled again. Wally tries to keep his thoughts off of how tired and hungry he is, so instead he sneaks more looks at Artemis and wonders about what she's thinking.

Later, when they finally find the bioship and get Kaldur settled into the med bunk, he finds himself alone with her again. He's gone over what he wants to say to her in his head the whole way back to the ship. He just hopes it comes out right.

"Look, Artemis," he starts, and then cowers like a child under her gaze when she turns to him. "Uh, I just thought we should, uh, talk about today?"

"What about today?" she asks him with an edge to her voice.

He gulps, the words stuck in his throat. "Just, you know, with the amnesia and everything, I wasn't exactly acting like myself."

"What, you mean your little crush on me?" she asks and she's smirking at him in a way that means nothing good.

"Crush?" Wally repeats. "On you? I was obviously delirious from lack of food and water. My actions can't be held against me."

"Don't get your tighty whities in a bunch, Baywatch," she says, turning her back to him. He thinks he can detect a slump in her shoulders but is unsure of what to make of it. "Today was nothing but a fluke. I get it."

"Uh, yeah, a fluke," he echoes. "That's exactly what it was."

He can't help but wonder though, at the small part of him that feels an emptiness inside of him at her words.

* * *

><p>AN: Kinda short. This definitely isn't my favorite chapter, but I hope you guys will like it and review! :-)

All right, Bereft is over and done with! I think I'll my trying to stray away from some of the episodes now. I mean, I'll do the important ones like Failsafe and stuff, but I really want to come up with some original material that isn't just based around dialogue that's already been written.

Thanks again for all of your reviews! You all are the best! Keep it up! XD


	9. Teammate II

**A/N: **Wow, it's really been forever. I'm so sorry! To be honest, the lack of Spitfire in Season 2 so far had me a little distraught, and my muse left me for a little while there. But I believe it's back now so hopefully we can get more frequent updates. Thanks for sticking with me guys and hopefully you'll like this chapter! XD

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

_Chapter 9: Teammate II_

Wally has never really thought much about how he would die. It's a morbid thought, something that he's never wanted to dwell on. As a teen superhero though, he's always been aware that any day could be his last. After all, fighting the world's villains isn't a walk in the park. But he's always been too cocky and sure-footed to think about dying. Until the day the Reds attack the Cave that is. Trapped in the hard rock, he helplessly stands by as the two robot monsters track down Robin and Artemis around Mount Justice. He can't help but feel frustrated and inadequate. He jokes to the Red that he can vibrate through the rock he's currently trapped in, but it's all lies. If he was as skilled as his Uncle, he could have himself out in a minute, but Wally was sure that if he tried to vibrate his molecules that fast he'd just pass out, and what help would he be then?

Their best hope had been the EMP emitter, but that plan has failed. As he watches one of the Reds encase his best friend in water, surely drowning him, he thinks that maybe this is the end. He is out of jokes; he is out of ideas; and, as the water rises another inch, it seems like he is out of luck. He thinks about his parents and how they are at home, probably sitting down to dinner, blissfully ignorant. He thinks about his Uncle Barry and how he could never live up to him, but always strove to nonetheless. He thinks of his Aunt Iris, one of the greatest women, superhero or not, he knows, and how he hopes he's made her proud.

A robotic voice broadcasts through the Cave, "1 minute," and the water rises another inch. Artemis is somewhere in the Cave, plotting her next move Wally is sure. He almost wishes that she would run; find a way to escape the mountain before she suffered the same fate as them. But no, he hears a door hissing open and her voice. She's giving herself up. _No!_ He thinks desperately as the water continues rising.

"I surrender," her voice resounds through the Cave. "Stop the clock."

Even after she says it though, the water comes higher still and he realizes that the Reds aren't going to stop. It's obviously a trap, and Artemis has flown straight into it like a fly into a web. He wants to yell out to her, "No, Artemis, run!" He has the urge to pick her up in his arms like he did in Bialya and carry her away to the ends of the Earth so that no one, the Reds most of all, can hurt her.

But it's no use. The water is level with his mouth, and he takes on desperate gasp of air before his head is head is fully submerged. This is the end, he thinks, holding his breath and praying for some sort of miracle. The water rushes all around him, sending him into a total lockdown of all his senses. He can feel himself drowning. There's no air. The only thing he can hear is the pounding of blood in his head. Then, just before he's about to lose consciousness, the water suddenly begins receding completely, and Wally breathes in the air greedily, overcome with shock. The Reds have obviously been taken out, but by who?

"Kaldur, how's M'gann?" Conner yells up to above them. And all Wally wants to know is: Artemis? How is Artemis? But he remains silent, waiting for Kaldur's reply, as he is concerned about both him and M'gann as well.

"She breathes," the Atlantean says shakily. "I believe she will recover. But what of Robin?"

Wally hates not being about to see what's happening on the landing over them, almost as much as he hates being stuck in this rock. He waits in anticipation for an answer to Kaldur's questions for surely the answer will confirm the two things he's dying to know: One, that his best friend is all right, and two; that Artemis is alive and well. He hears Robin cough, but can't relax yet.

And then, "He-he's breathing, too!" Artemis' relieved voices squeaks, and Wally's never heard a more beautiful sound.

He's never realized how much he'd come to accept and even rely on Artemis' place on the Team. Sure, sometimes she could be annoying as hell, but she was also fierce, intelligent, and witty. Maybe Bialya had changed his opinion of her, but he hadn't really thought about it until today.

As the team assembles down where him and Conner are still encased in the rock, he realizes that this is the second time Artemis has saved his life. He's never really been good at thanking people, and he's more than a little anxious to get out of the rock, so his first words to her aren't exactly pleasant.

"Would you quit playing around with that thing, and cut us free already?" he snaps as she holds the laser cutter in her hands.

She doesn't hold back her glare, and he instantly feels chastised. "It's not working, genius. EMP shuts down all machines, remember?" she retorts, making him feel like an even bigger idiot.

And then Red Tornado comes back, and the machines come back to life, and Red – Red, who they thought they could trust, who was their den mother – is sucking all the air out of them, and Artemis frantically clutching her throat is the last thing he sees before he blacks out.

* * *

><p>Later, as their mentors all confer quietly over the situation, the Team is drawn like magnets together. M'gann is leaning on Conner, still recovering, and Wally can't even muster the strength to be jealous, especially when he only has eyes for a certain blond archer.<p>

"We grew too complacent," Kaldur says solemnly. "We knew that the Cave had been compromised once. We should have been on constant alert."

He doesn't know what possesses him to say it. It must be guilt over snapping at her before, because he says, "Yeah, if it wasn't for Blondie here, we would've been toast."

Artemis looks, well, flattered if her pink cheeks are any indication, and Wally decides that he likes that look on her. "Don't sell yourself short, Wallman," she tells him. "We never would've been able to put that EMP emitter together without your geek speak."

Wally can't help but smile at her when she says that because he doesn't think she's ever given him an actual compliment before. He's gratified when she smiles back, and he feels so warm that they might as well be back in the desert again.

Kaldur breaks into their moment. "We must vacate the Cave for the time being incase the Reds decide to return," he says. "Until it is determined that it is safe again, those that can go home, should. M'gann, Conner, would you like to accompany me to Atlantis?"

The both nod and the three of them go off to make plans. Robin suddenly disappears as well, most likely to confer with the Bat, leaving him and Artemis alone. He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. He's put his foot in his mouth too many times around her not to feel self-conscious about his words.

"Look, I meant what I said," Wally finally blurts out, staring at her sincerely. "You really saved our butts today. That's twice I owe you. So, uh, thanks."

"Don't mention it," she replies, but he detects the same kind of flattered, shyness that he'd seen before. "That's what teammates are for, right?"

"Right, " Wally agrees. They start walking back over to their mentors and Wally can't help himself. "You owe me a new souvenir, though."

"Oh, let me get right on that, Baywatch!"

He couldn't help but grin. Artemis had spirit; he couldn't deny that. And maybe, after today, they could actually get along. Maybe they could even be friends. He might able to stand that, he thinks.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Hopefully this was worth the wait! It's funny because all of my Wally chapters always seem like they're written in the present tense. I don't know why I do that. I started writing this story in the past tense but it sounded funny, so I switched. Anyway, it's late and I'm rambling. Thank you all for your kind reviews and favorites and alerts! You're all so great and I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. Please keep reviewing! XD

As usual, if anyone has any ideas of what they'd like to see, I'll definitely take them into consideration, so let me know!

Shamless Plug: If anyone's looking for a Spitfire!Invasion story, I've written a 3-shot of what I think is a plausible reason they're no where to be found. It's called Flash Forward and you can find it on my profile page.

Again, please review! That shiny new blue button below this is just calling your name! ;-)

**Edit:** I think I fixed all the places where I put ENP instead of EMP. Let me know if I didn't!


	10. Friend

**A/N: **It hasn't been that long since I've updated has it? Oh, two weeks you say? :-( Ooops! Sorry everyone! I've been kind of preoccupied with life and other projects. I was really stuck on what I was going to write next for this, but now that I have this chapter out of the way, I think I should be on a roll now. Props to Brella, or Satellites on Parade for kind of giving me the inspiration for this chapter! Thanks, girl! Hope you all enjoy! XD

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

_Chapter 10: Friend_

Artemis was used to bad dreams. There was rarely a night that went by where she didn't wake up, clutching her sheets desperately, tears forming in her eyes against her will. Usually, she took a few deep, calming breaths and tried to fall back asleep. Tonight, however, it just wasn't happening.

No matter which way Artemis tossed or turned, she couldn't get comfortable. You would think that the combined resources of the Justice League could afford comfier mattresses. Or maybe it wasn't the mattress, but the unfamiliarity of the room she was in. They all had their own rooms at the Cave, but she rarely if ever slept there. The Team had gotten back from India around 10:00 PM, and yet no one had felt like going home. Perhaps they wanted to feel closer to each other after their earlier disconnect; whatever it had been, they had all agreed to sleep over at the Cave for the night. As Artemis tried in vain to fall back asleep, however, she was beginning to regret her decision to stay.

With a huff she turned over and lay on her back, staring up at the dark ceiling. Maybe if she counted sheep…Her stomach gurgled loudly, banishing that thought and any chance of returning to sleep from her mind.

"All right, all right, I'm up," she grumbled, sitting up and setting her feet on the floor.

With a resigned sigh she got up and padded over to her door. Maybe something to drink would help her sleep. She hit the release button on her door, and it slid open with a hiss. The hallways of the Cave were lit but deserted, as Artemis had expected. She hadn't looked at the time, but it had to be about 3 a.m. if she had to take a guess. All of her teammates were sure to be snug in their beds, fast asleep. She was sure they didn't wake up in terror at night torn over things that shouldn't have happened but did, mistakes they'd made that couldn't be taken back.

Evidently, it seemed she _wasn't_ the only one in the Cave having a hard time drifting off into dreamland. When she walked into the kitchen, she encountered the messy bed head of their resident speedster. In front of him sat a half eaten sandwich and a glass of milk. He sat facing away from her, his body hunched over, staring off into space. If there was one thing Artemis had learned about Wally since joining the Team, it was that if he wasn't eating something, something was eating him.

"Can't sleep, either?" she asked, stepping into the kitchen. The cold tile felt refreshing against her bare feet as she made her way over to him.

"Huh?" Wally mumbled, startled. He snuck a look at her. "Oh, hey, Artemis," he said, yawning. Suddenly, he whipped his head back around to stare at her. "Why aren't you wearing any pants?" he asked, his voice cracking noticeably. His eyes rapidly looked her up and down, and she would have laughed at the color spreading across his face if she didn't feel her own cheeks flush.

_I _knew_ I was forgetting something,_ she thought, glancing down at her attire, or lack thereof. She didn't have many clothes at the Cave besides spare uniforms, so for pajamas she had had to make due with an oversized Gotham Knights t-shirt that she used to work out in. It fell down to her knees, but Wally's gaze made her feel it wasn't covering nearly enough.

"Uh, I don't normally keep a lot of clothes here," she said, quickly moving to opposite him so that the island in the kitchen was between them, hiding her legs from his view. "Better?" she asked, her face still burning, although she felt a sick sort of satisfaction at the fact that she could affect him this way.

Wally gulped staring at the place where her legs had been, before glancing away awkwardly. "Uh, yeah," he stuttered. She watched in amusement as his eyes raced around the room, trying to find somewhere to rest on. They finally settled back on her, flicking down to her shirt. "Gotham Knights, huh?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with them?" Artemis asked, crossing her arms across her chest. The Knights had been her favorite team since she was a little girl, possibly due to the fact that her father was a fan of the Gotham Griffins, the city's other pro baseball team.

"Nothing, just thought you would be a Rocket's fan, being from Star City and all," Wally said.

Artemis turned away towards the fridge hastily to hide her cringe. _Stupid, stupid. Quick, come up with something believable._ "Uh, I have family in Gotham," she told him, grabbing the milk from inside the fridge. Hey, it wasn't completely a lie. "They're all Knights fans. You could say I kind of just jumped on the bandwagon."

Wally snorted. "Figures. Not that it matters anyway. The Central City Stars are going all the way this year."

Artemis laughed out loud, pouring herself a glass of milk. "With the way they've been pitching? They'll be lucky if they make it to the playoffs."

"Care to put some money on it?" Wally asked, and Artemis finally felt in control enough to turn around and face him.

"Maybe," she said, taking a sip of her glass.

"Whoever's team makes it the farthest by the end of the season wins," Wally pronounced. "Loser has to buy dinner for the winner."

Artemis nearly spit out her milk. That sounded suspiciously like a play for a date, but she didn't dare point it out. "Are you kidding?" she sputtered. "There's no way I'd ever have enough money to feed that bottomless pit you call a stomach."

"What part of '_I have a metabolism problem_' does no one understand?" Wally groaned. He perked up after a second and smirked at her. "It sounds like you're admitting defeat already."

Artemis narrowed her eyes at him. "Never. Challenge accepted."

The young speedster stuck his hand out to shake on it, and Artemis felt a spark of something pass between them when their hands touched. Static electricity, maybe. She ignored it, and they both pulled their hands away.

"So, you never said what you were doing up this late," Artemis said nonchalantly, wondering what kinds of things kept the characteristically upbeat speedster up at night.

"Just thinking about the mission today," he said solemnly. "I don't know, I just never got a chance to apologize to Kaldur for being such a jerk." He scratched the back of his head self-consciously, and Artemis was struck by how contrite he looked. She believed he was truly sorry, and the thought melted her heart a bit.

"We all owe him an apology," Artemis said. "Yeah, maybe he shouldn't have kept what Sportsmaster told him a secret," she said, her father's alias leaving a bitter taste in her mouth, "But he was just doing what he thought was best as our team leader."

Wally nodded, picking at his sandwich. Artemis waited, knowing that something was still on his mind. "I can't believe he thought one of us could have been a mole, though," he blurted out, using both of his hands to grip the countertop.

"Anything Sportsmaster said would have been enough to plant the seed of doubt," Artemis reasoned. Knowing her father, he now had knowledge of her place on the Team and had been trying to point fingers in her direction. "Kaldur had to make sure that his claims weren't true."

Wally scoffed. "If I hadn't seen Red Tornado betray us with my own two eyes, I would have a hard time believing anyone on the Team could be a traitor."

"Well, that just goes to show how naïve you are," Artemis snapped before she could stop herself. Betrayal was a running theme in her life. It was something that could happen to anyone, at any moment, and if she knew that if you didn't protect yourself properly, there was no stopping it from happening to you.

Wally's stare was hard as he looked at her. "Is it naïve of me to trust my friends?" he asked. "To believe that they have my back? Then, yeah, maybe I am naïve."

"Am I included in that?" her traitorous mouth asked. But her heart raced at his potential answer. All she'd ever wanted deep down was to be accepted by the Team, but most of all by him. He who had so protested at her inclusion in the first place, who hadn't hesitated to point out all of her mistakes. But, it wasn't like that anymore. Ever since Bialya, he'd changed his attitude towards her. He talked to her without disdain or forced friendliness. She thought that if they could at least be friends, she wouldn't crave more: Wouldn't grow jealous at the sight of him flirting with M'gann; wouldn't yearn to have his hand in hers like it had been in Bialya.

Wally's forehead crinkled in confusion. "Well, yeah," he simply said. She thought she detected that red flush on his face from before. "I mean, we _are_ friends, right?"

"Right," Artemis confirmed, wondering if her relief was apparent on her face.

"Good," Wally said, nodding his head. He cleared his throat, unnecessarily. "So, we've, uh, been over why I'm awake. What are you doing up?"

Artemis looked down at her hands remembering the nightmare that had woken her up. Her, crumpled on the floor as her teammates, her friends all stood around her, looking down on her without pity. Voices, their voices, telling her that she didn't belong on the team. Kaldur's voice, demanding to know why she didn't tell them who her father was, who her sister was, what her mother had done. Wally's harsh voice, hissing that he never wanted to lay eyes on her ever again.

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "Bad dream," she said, shrugging her shoulders. A part of her wanted to confide in him, but she didn't want to appear weak.

"Oh, did you, do you want to talk about it?" he asked, running a hand through his red hair, a habit Artemis had learned he did when he was feeling uncomfortable.

She decided to take pity on him. "That's okay. I don't really remember what it was about," Artemis lied easily. She drained the last of her milk and took the glass over the sink to rinse it out. "I better be getting back to bed," she said, turning back to face him.

"Yeah, same," he said, quickly downing the last of his milk and speeding over to the sink with his glass and plate. He threw the rest of his uneaten sandwich out and placed the items in the sink.

"Goodnight, Wally," she said, giving him a half smile, and beginning to turn away, feeling the exhaustion of the day finally creep over her body.

"Your hair looks nice like that," came his blurted out reply.

Artemis turned back to face him, her eyebrows raised high. Yes, her hair was out of its customary ponytail for once and flowing down to her waist, but she never would have expected him of all people to comment on it.

"I, I mean, it's a nice change from it, you know, being up all the time?" He ended his stuttered out sentence on a high note, making it sound like a question, as if he wasn't at all sure what he was saying.

"Um, thanks," she replied, tucking her bangs behind her ear self-consciously. Wally gave her a tight-lipped smile, which was her cue to go. If she had looked back before she'd left the kitchen, she would have seen Wally with his head in his hands, shaking it back and forth.

Artemis made her way back down the hallway to her room. Once sequestered inside, she leaned back against her door. Who was she kidding thinking she could be friends with Wally without wanting more? It was going to be like torture.

Maybe, though, if she showed him that she cared, if she went out of her way to do little things for him, he would see that she could be more than just a friend.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** See what I did there? Kind of like a lead in to Revelations and the breather and the arm sling thing. XD Ohhhh, yeah. Anyway, I will probably be skipping doing anything for Revelations or Humanity and get right to the goods. That's right, Failsafe chapter(s) up next guys! Can you handle the feels? I don't think you can!

Sidenote: OMG HOW CUTE IS OUR FAVORITE COUPLE GUYS? 5 years! 5 years they've been together! And that gives me all sorts of wonderful ideas for this story! I kind of want to just skip ahead and do like Date, Classmate, Roommate, and all sorts of fun stuff like that, but I promised myself that I'd go in chronological order...

Sidenote 2: Which is a Shamless Plug. I highly encourage everyone to check out superheroes-at-stanford (.) tumblr (.) com. I've decided to write some TV scripts based on Wally and Artemis leaving the team to go to school at Stanford. So, check that out if you're interested. XD

Thanks for reviewing and favoriting and story alerting this guys! You rock!

~ Melissa


	11. Crush

**A/N: **All right, prepare yourself for some major Failsafe feels. This is my longest chapter yet I think! Thanks to TheRantDragon or yougottadealwiththespitfire on Tumblr for keeping me company on my Google Doc when I was writing this. We gave each other all kinds of feels. And thanks for everyone else that was there! I had lots of fun bouncing ideas off of you all! Anyway, without further ado, I give you Chapter 11! Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 11: Crush

It appears out of nowhere; one minute it isn't there and then the next it couldn't be more obvious. But, he tries to reason with himself, it's unimaginable, an abomination, it goes against everything he's done in the last few months. He honestly has no idea how it happened. When exactly had he developed a crush on _Artemis_? Artemis, of all people!

When had Miss Martian's sweet, green visage been replaced with the archer's fierce, olive countenance? When had silky red hair dissolved to a wild, blonde mane? When had he begun preferring sharp elbow jabs over a tray of freshly baked cookies?_ When_?

It is clearly a case of head vs. heart. His head tells him that Megan is the perfect girl for him: beautiful, sweet, caring, and she can cook. A guy would be proud to bring a girl like Megan home to his mom. Artemis on the other hand, well she is gorgeous to be sure, but she's also abrasive, bossy, and egotistical. He is 100% sure that she is not what he wants.

But if that's true, why do his palms get all sweaty every time she's near? And why does he want to see her hair down again like it had been in the kitchen that night a few weeks ago? And what about that one time when they were sparring together and he got…excited, for lack of a better word? That wasn't supposed to happen to you with your friends, and he likes to think that they are friends even after their rocky start. He's pretty sure you aren't supposed to want to kiss friends. You aren't supposed to want to tease them just to see their grey eyes light up with that fire you love so much. No, you weren't supposed to want _any_of those things!

Wally sighs, staring at the half eaten bologna sandwich in front of him. That she-devil! It isn't fair! He's sure that she harbors no such feelings towards him that cause her to have a lack of appetite. In fact, he's pretty sure that she has a thing for Supes. After all, Megan hadn't been the only one that'd heard her thoughts as she'd watched him walk away. Conner is...good looking he supposes, but he lacks Wally's smooth moves and charm. So, what does the guy have that Wally doesn't?

He looks over into the living room where Conner sits in front of the TV, the No Signal message on as usual. Maybe girls really are into that strong, silent, broody type, he thinks. He watches as Megan floats over and sits down on the couch next to him. The two had become pretty close since their undercover mission at Belle Reve. Wally is glad for it. After all, everyone needs a best friend; even teenage superhero clones with anger management issues.

But back to the object of his...affections? Obsessions? He doesn't quite know the right word to describe her, as he looks at her out of the corner of his eye. She's nearby, sharing the same counter space as him, repairing a few of her arrows. Her face is full of concentration as she scrutinizes one arrow, before laying it to the side with the fixed ones.

He realizes that he doesn't know much about her other than the fact that she's Green Arrow's niece and she has an affinity for archery. Oh, and there had been that little bit about her dad _wanting to her to kill him_, but he tries not to dwell on that too much. He watches as she stiffens suddenly and whirls around to face him. Caught red-handed by her questioning glare, there's not much he can do besides smile weakly and wave.

"What?" she hisses at him.

"What?" he repeats, not sure of what she's asking him.

"What did I do now?" she snaps defensively. "Why were you staring at me?"

"I wasn't staring," he objects. "And you haven't done anything. I-I was just thinking that, well, you've been on the team for about 2 months now, and none of us really know much about you," he stutters, going for the first thing he thinks of off the top of his head.

At first, she looks defensive still, closed off even, and he just knows she's going to shut him down faster than you can say "Fail Kid Flash", but then amazingly she softens and a soft flush graces her cheeks. "What do you want to know?" she asks, almost shyly, which is a word he'd never in a million years associate with Artemis. Wally has to stop himself from falling out of his chair in excitement. Be cool, he urges himself, trying to play off how interested he really is.

"Well, your birthday, for starters," he says. Then, making his voice louder so that their other teammates can hear him. "As we all know, my 16th birthday is next month-"

"November 11th, we know, Wally," the rest of the team, even Artemis, choruses. He grins and shoots them all two thumbs up, before turning back to Artemis who is rolling her eyes.

"So?" he prompts, gesturing to her.

"July 18th," she tells him. "That's when I turn 16."

"Favorite color?" he asks, keeping it simple.

"Purple."

"Ethnicity?" he asks quickly, concerned that it's too personal, but really, he's always wondered.

"Half white, half Vietnamese," she answers, pulling her long mane of blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Ooo, exotic," he teases, hoping to offset any awkwardness, and he notes her rolled eyes and half smile with triumph. "Favorite subject in school?"

She takes a moment to consider it. "Spanish."

"How many languages do you speak?" he asks curiously.

"Four. English, a little bit of Vietnamese, French, and Spanish."

"Not bad," he tells her, thinking that this piece of information would have been helpful to know last week for his Spanish test. "Have any brothers and sisters?"

She freezes and looks almost nervous, and he wants to call back the question before she pulls out of their little game.

"An older sister," she blurts out suddenly, and he looks at her encouragingly. "But I don't see much of her anymore," she says, looking down at the countertop. "She turned her back on me a long time ago."

He has no idea how to respond, so he remains silent. This is the first time he's ever seen her tough shell crack, and he wishes he could say something reassuring or comforting but nothing springs to his mind. Cat's got his tongue for once. After a moment though, Artemis raises her head and gestures to him, "What about you?"

"Only child," he preens. "My parents obviously knew perfection when they saw it."

"Or they saw what a handful you were and stopped trying," she quips, and Wally maturely sticks his tongue out at her in retaliation.

He's rewarded with the sound of her laughter and has to stop himself from grinning like a fool.

"Favorite League member that's not your mentor?" he asks, continuing on.

"Black Canary."

"Favorite place in the world?"

She thinks long and hard about that one before saying, "Mount Justice, Happy Harbour, Rhode Island."

He can tell she's being completely sincere, but he can't help teasing her about it. "Aww, who knew you had a sentimental side?"

She throws him a dirty look. "Are we done playing 20 questions yet, because I have things to do." She turns back to her broken arrows, but Wally grabs her wrist in protest, turning her back to him.

"I'm just kidding around, yeesh," he says, and she reluctantly turns back towards him. Both of their eyes are magnetically pulled to the spot where he is touching her, and Wally quickly retracts his hand with a sheepish grin.

"Okay, okay, last question," he assures her. "If you could choose anywhere in the world to go, where would it be?"

She purses her lips in thought, which makes Wally's eyes zone in on them. He thinks again that you shouldn't be so enthralled with your friend's lips. Shouldn't wonder what they might taste or feel like against yours. He tries to tear his eyes away, but it's easier said than done, and he's only successful when she starts to answer his question.

"Maybe Paris?" she contemplates aloud. "I've always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower."

"You wanna go right now?" he blurts out, eyes widening in shock at his own nerve after the fact.

"Where, to Paris?" she asks disbelievingly, that same flush from before coming over her cheeks.

"Yeah, I could get us there real quick," he tells her. "In a flash, one might say." He really can't believe the words that are coming out of his mouth. For goodness sake, he sounds as cheesy as his Uncle Barry, but he can't stop for some reason. They're not lines for once though. They're not said in any particularly appealing way. He just wants to take her to see the Eiffel Tower. What good are super powers if you can't use them to impress a girl?

"What about the training mission?" she asks him, but all he hears is that she's not saying no.

"What training mission?" he echoes, frowning at the throught of anything getting in the way of his plans.

"Uh, hello Wally! The training simulation we're doing today. The reason everybody's here," she reminds him, gesturing to their teammates who are all occupied with other things around the room.

"Oh yeah, _that_training mission," he says, remembering that they were all gathered in the kitchen, awaiting Batman and Martian Manhunter's arrival.

"Paris will have to wait 'til another day," she tells him, and it doesn't escape him that instead of being a no, that's a definite _yes_.

"All right, I'm going to hold you to this now," he says, only half kidding. "I'm taking you to see the sights. Don't think you're getting out of it."

"Wouldn't dream of it," she replies and she's smiling and this has got to be the best feeling in the world. Suddenly, her eyes are locked onto his and his onto hers and he's transported back to Bialya when he wanted to kiss her so badly, except this time he has his memories and he knows exactly who she is. And then the moment is broken.

"Team, report to the training room," Batman's grave voice sounds over the loudspeaker. "The training exercise will commence in 10 minutes."

Around them their teammates start off down the hallway, but Wally is stuck in his chair, a wave of foreboding crashing over him.

"What's wrong?" Artemis asks, suddenly at his side.

"I don't know," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just have a bad feeling about this."

"Come on," she says. "It's not like it's real. What could go wrong?"

Wally nods, unable to shake off his uneasiness, but follows her nonetheless to the training room where they take the only two seats left, side by side. Both Batman and J'onn explain to them that the simulation is to test their abilities in different scenarios. None of it will be real, both of them stress.

Batman asks if they're ready and they all reply affirmatively and lay back on the stone slabs in the room. Wally looks over to where Artemis is next to him and finds her breathing deeply in and out, getting herself psyched up for the mission ahead. He directs his eyes to the ceiling just in case she catches him staring again, and right before J'onn puts them all out, her words echo through his mind.

_What could go wrong?_

* * *

><p>One minute she's there and then the next second she's gone, cruelly ripped away from the world and from him in one single horrible moment, disintegrated in front of his very eyes. For the first time since this awful day started, he feels something. It's like a thousand little knives are digging into his heart, but unbelievably it keeps beating. He's still alive, but all he feels is agony. Her name rips from his chapped lips, echoing across the frozen tundra, as if he yells it loud enough she'll come back.<p>

But nothing happens beyond Aqualad unleashing his fury on the alien ship that did this, and Wally wishes he could help; he wants to hit something, anything. He can feel the energy in his body yearning him to do_ something, anything,_and yet he's rooted to the spot, stuck staring at the place where she stood last, her bow strung back and ready to fire even as she pivoted around.

And what had he done? Him, Kid Flash, the fastest boy alive, capable of breaking the sound barrier, what had he done? He'd stood there and let the girl he loved - the word flitted through his mind before he could stop it, but really, what did it matter now - be killed without even moving a muscle. He'd done nothing. What kind of teammate, what kind of _hero_, did that make him? That knowledge was a hard pill to swallow. He was useless. He would make sure that Artemis' sacrifice wasn't in vain though. He would avenge her.

"They're dead," Wally vows aloud, his voice sounding harsh and cold even to his own ears. "Every single alien. If it's the last thing I do."

No one argues with him. They all appear stunned by this turn of events. Miss Martian is crying, but he's so full of anger that he can't bring himself to comfort her, so he turns and stalks up the ramp of the bioship and into the main cabin. There he is confronted by the sight of Artemis's empty chair in back of his and tears start to form in his eyes. Almost involuntarily, his body drops into her seat. Maybe he's too tired to walk the extra distance to his, but really he just wants to be close to her. Sitting here where she sat last, he can pretend that she'll saunter inside and kick him out of her seat.

But she doesn't, and he can't keep pretending she will. He brushes angrily at the traitorous tears rolling down his cheeks. He has no right to cry. Not after he stood by and didn't move an inch to save her. He hears the others shuffle in and take their seats, readying for take off. Robin drops a hand on his shoulder briefly, but Wally is so deep in self loathing that he doesn't acknowledge it.

They take off and everyone is silent except for Miss Martian who can't contain her quiet sobs. Anger wells up in Wally so intensely that the only way to release it is to hit something, so he ends up bringing his first down on the console in front of him a few times. The noises that escape him are animalistic and full of pain and he imagines that he's pummeling the ugly mug of the alien invaders that have dared to take her away from him before he could tell her how he really feels. Felt. Right now, there's no room for love or anything in his heart. All he feels is cold fury.

He knows what he has to do. He has to stick it to these damn aliens. And he'll do it in her name because he's sure that's what she would have wanted. He's not sure if he's more hell bent on justice or revenge but the two don't seem so different to him at the moment.

* * *

><p><em>She's alive!<em> is the constant mantra in Wally's head as they prepare to infiltrate the alien mothership. _Artemis is alive! We're going to find her and rescue her! Along with Uncle Barry, Aqualad, and everyone. She's alive!_

It's like a fire has been ignited inside of Wally and he can't wait to get inside and turn the place upside down in order to find her. He doesn't care what she says to him when he finds her, although it'll probably be something snarky like, "Took you long enough, Baywatch," because as soon as he sees her he's going to scoop her up and give her the best kiss of her life and if she doesn't kill him he's going to tell her how amazing he thinks she is.

Only, he doesn't get the chance because she's not alive. Turns out, he's been kidding himself the whole time and his best friend has been lying to him like it's no big deal. But he can't bring himself to hate Robin who would never let his emotions get in the way of doing his duty, not like Wally has. And really, there's no one else Wally would rather be with in this fiery hell hole than his best pal.

And just before the bombs go off he thinks,_ I'll see you soon, Artemis_, because even though he's never believed in God or Heaven or that sort of thing, if Kent Nelson had been right about Artemis being his spitfire, maybe, just maybe, he's right about this, too, and -

Suddenly, he's awake. He gasps for air and finds it comes easily, no smoke or ash in his mouth now. He's sweating heavily, but there's no heat or fire around him. He opens his eyes to find himself staring up at the ceiling of the Cave. He doesn't understand. What had happened? Had they destroyed the mothership? How did they, _he,_get back to the Cave?

Then, he hears a low moan, and there's no mistaking who it is. _Artemis! _He struggles to sit up, but he's dizzy for some reason, so he ends up almost face planting. A strong hand reaches out to steady him, and he looks up to see that the hand belongs to Captain Marvel.

"Easy there, Wally," he says softly, helping Wally sit up.

"You're all alive!" he vaguely hears M'gann exclaim, but he can't focus on what's going on because he's finally able to set eyes on Artemis. Artemis, alive and breathing and not disintegrated and he doesn't think he's ever been happier or more relieved in his entire life.

Until Batman and J'onn start explaining about the mission and how it was designed to get worse and worse, but how they had known going in that none of it was real. And suddenly, Wally feels mortified beyond belief. He had acted like a lunatic for no good reason. He'd completely overreacted. A part of him wants to run outside and bury his head in the sand while another part of him wants to grab Artemis and never let go. Across the room, M'gann dissolves into tears and Wally feels like crying himself. It had all felt so real.

Batman, Red Tornado, and J'onn have retreated to one side of the room, while Captain Marvel and Conner try to calm down M'gann. Him, Artemis and Robin haven't moved, but suddenly he can't stand to be still anymore. He can't stand to be _here_ anymore, in the same room as _her_. Without a word to anyone, he's up and running and out of the Cave. He needs to think and he does his best thinking when he's running, the world like a blur around him.

His thoughts are a jumble of panic left over from the mission and relief. But one thing is clear: this little crush needs to be crushed. It needs to be forgotten, swallowed up by safe platonic feelings. He can do that, he thinks. He has to. By burying his feelings for Artemis, he's protecting himself. And really, it shouldn't be all that hard to just direct his feelings for Artemis back to Miss M where they belong.

What could go wrong?

A few days later, he has his first test. He's sitting at the counter in the kitchen again, doing some of his Spanish homework, minding his own business. And that's when Artemis walks in. Wally does his best to ignore her, but he can't very well do that when she's setting her stuff down next to him. Still, he doesn't glance up, focusing instead on his por vs. para.

"Hey," Artemis says, and well, he can't exactly ignore her now, not when she's talking directly to him.

"Hello," he replies, scribbling an answer down.

"I was thinking," she starts saying, and he resists the urge to look at her because he knows that she probably has that cute flush to her cheeks again. "We still on for Paris?"

He feigns ignorance. "What? Paris?"

"Remember," she presses. "You said you were going to take me to see the Eiffel Tower."

He taps his chin as if deep in thought. "Oh, yeah, I did, didn't I?" he muses. "I dunno, it seems kind of like a stupid idea now. I mean, been there, done that. Besides, I've got tons of homework to do."

He's facing her by this point and sees her face fall with each sentence he wills out of his mouth. "Oh," she says quietly. But then her expression hardens. "Oh. Yeah, you're right. Stupid idea."

"But hey, I'm sure Megan would take you in the bioship, if you wanted," he offers, seeing Megan walk into the kitchen. "Hey, Megalicious! Artemis here wants to see the Eiffel Tower. Wouldn't that be a fun trip for you guys?"

Megan perks up right away, practically floating over to Artemis. "What a great idea!"

The words feel prickly in his throat, but they come out anyway. "Not as great as you, babe!"

Artemis pushes back from her seat at the counter. "You know what, I just remembered that I have patrol with Green Arrow," she tells them, slinging her book bag over her shoulder. She turns away, but not before Wally can see the look on her face. Hurt. "I'll see you guys later."

She quickly exits the kitchen and Wally wishes with everything that he is that he could just run after her and tell her what's going on in his head, but even he doesn't know what that is. This won't be easy, but it's what's for the best. He'll just have to keep telling himself that. He pushes the sight of her disappointed face to the back of his mind and tries to focus on more important things. He turns to Megan.

"How about some of your famous chocolate chip cookies, beautiful?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Well?


	12. Crush II

**A/N:** How long has a been since I updated? Almost a month you say? Sorry guys! I was just totally WHELMED by the number of reviews I got for Chapter 11! **48**! That's more than some chapters combined! Really, thank you guys sooooo much. I'm sorry I slaughtered you all with feels last chapter, but I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. Also, if some of you don't know, I posted a companion piece to Chapter 11 called _**Surprise**_. If you're sad that you didn't get to see Wally take Artemis to Paris, you might want to read that. Completely fluffy to the point of going overboard, but I really enjoyed writing it.

Anyway, this chapter is based off of an Ask Greg question where he said it wouldn't have surprised him is M'gann had told Artemis about Wally's reaction to Artemis' death in the training simulation. It takes place during Disordered. Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 12: Crush II_  
><em>

The gym was silent except for the comforting sound of her arrows piercing the targets set up across the room. As she nocked another arrow, she imagined a certain speedster jerk-off's face as the target and let the arrow fly confidently. Bullseye. She felt no satisfaction about it though; it got kind of old when you had been doing it for the better part of two hours. That fact didn't stop her from loosing another half a dozen arrows into the targets and pretending the bulls-eye was the spot right between Wally's eyes.

Wally didn't want to go to Paris anymore? That was just _fine_. Why had she thought she'd wanted to go with that freckled face idiot anyway? She must have been crazy to think that anything would ever come of the two of them. Wally was obviously as hung up on M'gann as he'd ever been, and she was stuck looking like a love struck fool! Well, she could easily direct her attention to anyone else, Conner even. Her White Rabbit. She'd always found him attractive; after all, boy had it going _on_, and at least he wasn't a motormouth like Kid Idiot. Strong, silent type; that's exactly what she needed.

Artemis had had her "therapy" session earlier that day with Black Canary and was having a hard time trying to sort out her thoughts on the training simulation. Her head was a jumble of emotions: relief that she hadn't had to watch any of her teammates die, but guilt and frustration over the fact that she'd let her guard down and ruined the whole exercise by getting zapped. She was a survivor, always had been; how could she have let herself get killed, even if it wasn't real, like that?

She loosed another arrow and growled when it wasn't a perfect bulls-eye. This whole thing was messing with her mind. While she wasn't always confident about herself, she was always secure in knowing that her archery abilities were top notch, and right now she needed that to still be true.

On top of the whole failsafe debacle, she had to worry about the Team finding out about her family. To her, it was unfathomable, and she prayed that Dinah kept her secret and didn't inform the team of her less than stellar relations out of some misguided attempt to help her. Really, the last thing she needed was Wally finding out her father was Sportsmaster or that Cheshire was her sister.

Funny how it kept coming back to him; now, in her nightmares, in her therapy session. What was it that Canary had said? _So the person you're most worried about is Wally._ And Artemis hadn't denied it because it was somehow true. She cared what Wally thought about her, had craved his good opinion since Day One, but had hid it behind her outwardly unshakable self-confidence. And the thought of Wally finding out all of her secrets made her stomach churn.

She thought of their little question and answer session last week before the simulation. She could have turned him down, made him leave her alone; that would have been the smart thing to do, but no. Instead, she'd let him ask her things no one else on the Team knew about. Hell, she'd even briefly touched on Jade. She'd wanted to confide in him. It had been...nice. And now it looked like he was back to barely tolerating her presence. What had changed between then and now?

She nocked another arrow, aimed, and fired, glad when the arrow hit its mark. The door to the training room opened and M'gann stepped inside, dressed in her civvies. She shyly waved at Artemis and started to make her way over to her. Most of the time, Artemis loved the green Martian girl, but it was hard right now when M'gann was the object of Wally's affections. It was petty of her, she freely admitted that, especially since M'gann had shown literally zero interest Wally, but she had never claimed to be a rational person.

"Artemis, I have to talk to you about something," M'gann said quietly, without preamble. Artemis turned from surveying the targets to look at her friend. The girl was wringing her hands anxiously as Artemis had seen her do almost constantly over the last week since the training simulation.

She sighed. "M'gann, you don't have to keep apologizing for what happened in the exercise. If anything, I'm the one that should," she added in a grumble, turning back towards the targets. She lifted her bow, aimed, and fired. The arrow hit slightly right of the bullseye and she mentally growled. This was getting ridiculous.

"No, it's not about that; at least, not entirely," M'gann told her hesitantly. "It's about, well, it's about Wally."

Artemis froze. Had M'gann guessed about her stupid crush on him and come to interrogate her about it? Or maybe she had come to apologize for his fawning over her? Another thought, slightly more ridiculous than the others, pinged around her head. Was she coming to stake her claim on him and tell her to back off? Artemis swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to act casually. "What about him?" she asked, firing off another arrow. This one didn't even make it near the bullseye. Damn it.

"In the training exercise, when you...died, everyone was really upset," M'gann started, and Artemis wondered where this was going. She heard M'gann take a deep breath behind her as she launched another arrow. "He probably wouldn't want me to tell you this, but no one was more upset than Wally."

This caught Artemis' full attention. She lowered her bow and turned to face the Martian girl. "What?" she asked, her voice deadly serious. Maybe she hadn't heard her friend correctly.

"He was completely devastated," M'gann continued, her voice full of emotion. "I've never seen him like that before-"

"Your emotions must have heightened his," Artemis interrupted with what was likely the logical reason.

M'gann shook her head, however. "No, it doesn't work like that," she said firmly. "If anything, _his_ emotions heightened _mine._" She rested a hand on Artemis' shoulder. Artemis had the strongest urge to shrug it off and run away from this whole conversation, but there was a part of her that wanted to know everything. "I've never seen him so angry. I mean, you know Wally. He's usually so happy-go-lucky."

"He was just angry that I let myself get vaped," Artemis argued, but M'gann was shaking her head again before she even finished her sentence.

"Maybe angry isn't the right word," she amended. "It was more than that. I don't know how to describe it. It's like he was..._heartbroken_." She paused for a moment, and Artemis tried to absorb her words, tried to understand how any of what she was saying could be true, but her head couldn't make heads or tails of it. "When he thought there was a chance that you were alive, that you had been teleported somewhere instead of disintegrated, he was beside himself. Nothing else mattered but finding you."

She couldn't handle M'gann's intense gaze on her so she pulled away from her and looked back at the targets across the room. It didn't make any sense to her. If he had been heartbroken like M'gann said, did that mean he had feelings for her? And if he did, if he'd been so upset, more upset that any one else on the Team, why he had acted so indifferently to her after?

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked M'gann suddenly, turning back to her.

"I know you and Wally got off to a rough start," she replied, "But I thought you should know that he cares about you, even if he has a hard time showing it."

"Apparently he can only show it after I'm dead," she mumbled darkly, burying her face in her hands more out of frustration and confusion than anything else.

M'gann, rather wisely in Artemis' opinion, saw this as her cue to leave. "Anyway, I just though you ought to know. I'll let you get back to your training," she said quietly. She was about to turn away before she suddenly bopped herself on the head. "Hello, Megan! I forgot to tell you. Happy Harbour High is having a Halloween party next week, and I thought we could make it a team thing and all go together! It'll be fun! Costumes, games, candy. I think it's just what we all need, and it'll be mine and Connor's first Halloween!"

Artemis didn't need to tell her that it would be her first Halloween as well. She and Jade had never had the luxury of trick-or-treating as children. "It sounds like fun," she said, albeit a little less enthusiastic sounding that M'gann probably wanted. "Thanks, M'gann," Artemis re enforced, and she knew the Martian girl understood that she wasn't just thanking her for inviting her to the Halloween party. M'gann nodded, gave her a half smile, and floated away and out of the training room.

When she was finally gone, Artemis expelled a deep breath and her whole body fell into a slump. She let herself fall into a chair nearby against the wall, resting her elbows on her knees. Why did boys have to be so confusing? Why couldn't they come with some sort of manual that told you why they did the things they did? If Wally liked her, which seemed to be the logical conclusion given his reaction to her "death, why was he all over M'gann? Why had he decided to take back his offer to go to Paris?

She tried to put herself in his shoes. If it had been the other way around, what would her first instinct be? And as soon as she thought it, it dawned on her. He was doing what he did best; he was running. Not literally, but figuratively. The thought almost made her laugh, but it sent a bitter taste down her throat. If that's what Wally was doing, fine, she didn't need any cowards in her life. If he thought he could turn off his feelings so easily, than so could she.

She would start with the Happy Harbour Halloween party, she decided then and there. She had no experience with the holiday, but she would get someone, maybe her friend Bette from Gotham Academy, to help her make a kick ass costume that was sure to grab attention. And she would focus all of her energy on flirting with Conner who would realize that she was one of a kind. Maybe they would even dance together.

The only question at the end of the night would be, Wally who?

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Well? I realize this is complete speculation and headcanons at work on my part, especially about Artemis having a crush on Wally from the beginning, but I feel like it explains some of her actions. Anyway, let me know what you guys think! Please keep up the amazing reviews! You're all awesome!

**Shameless Plug:** I started this collab fic with the lovely **ovp** called _The Archer and Me _which is a YJ mash-up with the movie The Prince and Me. It's some fun Spitfire stuff with a hint of Chalant and I would love if you'd all read it! XD


	13. Problem

**A/N: **In this chapter you will find, concerned!Wally, leftover Failsafe feels, ghost stories, and much much more! Thanks everyone for reviewing, putting me and/or this story on your alerts, and adding me and/or this story to your favorites! I'm reaching through my computer right now to hug you all :)

This chapter is set right after the events of **Secrets**.

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 13: Problem

She was in the infirmary cleaning up the cut on her face when the double doors blew open with what seemed like a gust of wind. Suddenly, Wally was standing next to her, and from what she could tell looking at his reflection in the mirror, he had been in the middle of taking off his "teen werewolf" costume when he'd decided to make an impromptu visit to the infirmary. He was looking her over intently, but said nothing, so she rolled her eyes and continued putting some peroxide on her cut.

"Can I help you?" she asked impatiently, wincing at the sting of the peroxide.

"We ran into Zatanna as she was leaving," he explained in a rush. "She mentioned something about you two being kidnapped by a psychopath with a huge sword!" She still didn't answer him, busy pressing a bandage to her cut. "Ring any bells?" he pressed.

Finally, when she was convinced that the wound was merely superficial and would heal within a few days, she turned to the distressed speedster.

"A few," she replied coolly, looking at him expectantly. What was his deal? He'd been so cold around her lately, and since she knew why she'd been returning the favor.

"What were you two thinking, going off like that? In New York City, no less?" he snapped when he realized she wasn't going to say anything more. "You could've gotten seriously hurt!"

Taken aback by his concern, it took Artemis a moment to respond. "But we didn't," she said slowly.

"What's that then?" he persisted, pointing at her face.

She put her fingers to her bandage. "This? It's just a scratch. I'm fine."

"That's besides the point," he said. He had taken off the wig of his werewolf costume, but still had on the ridiculous facial hair. It would have been funny if his green eyes weren't blazing with anger. "You should have called for backup."

"We had the situation under control," she argued, his anger giving rise to hers. "What is your problem?"

"You!" he burst out, and she recoiled as if he had hit her. She saw his Adam's Apple bob as he swallowed hard, but he didn't stop. "You always think you have to take on everything by yourself, that you don't need anyone's help. You're, you're just so...reckless."

He had run out of steam too early, and she watched him deflate before her, eyes glued to the ground. She could feel her own anger dissipate, and decided to take pity on him.

"Wally, what's this really about?" she asked gently.

He was silent for a long moment, so long that she began to think that he hadn't heard her. But then she heard him whisper, "You died."

Her eyes widened in shock, those two words completely unexpected. She could feel herself sway, and steadied herself with a hand on the counter. Artemis never thought that he would willingly bring up the training simulation to her of all people. She said nothing though, waiting to see if he was going to add anything more. He didn't disappoint.

"You died, and I couldn't save you," he said, the anger back in his voice, though it seemed to be directed towards himself this time. His eyes were trained on his feet as if he couldn't bare to look her in the face.

She was shaking her head though, "No, Wally-"

"I just stood there and did nothing," he continued bitterly, ignoring her interjection. "I was useless and you just-"

"Wally." How could he blame himself for what happened to her in a the failsafe debacle? If it was anyone's fault it was hers, and only hers. Artemis laid both of her hands on his shoulders, and at her touch his eyes flew up to meet hers. His regretful stare burned into her fiercely and something inside of her shifted. How long had she lasted trying to resist her feelings? A week? Maybe? There was no helping it; she couldn't deny that there was a connection there. He could, and she would have to accept that, but she couldn't do it anymore. Her hands felt too comfortable grasping his shoulders, trying to comfort him.

"You can't blame yourself for what happened in the training exercise," she said slowly, making sure that his eyes were on hers, that he understood every word she was saying. "_No one's_ to blame. It wasn't real."

"That doesn't mean it couldn't happen," he murmured, looking stricken at the thought.

"Any one of us, any day," Artemis agreed. "But we know the risks and we accept them. If we didn't, we wouldn't be doing this. Right?" Wally nodded and Artemis was glad she was getting through to him. "If I ever hear you blaming yourself again, I'll kick your butt, okay?"

Wally snorted as if what she said was far-fetched, but nodded again. She let go of his shoulders, allowing her hands to alight on her hips for lack of anything better to do with them.

"So, do you want to hear about our night, or not?"

* * *

><p>Five minutes later they were both fully out of their costumes and in their civvies, parked in front of the Cave's big screen with a bowl of popcorn between them. On the TV, there was a horror movie marathon playing, but neither of them were paying much attention to it.<p>

"There no such thing as ghosts," Wally was saying stubbornly, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you had seen her," Artemis persisted. "Greta was real."

"Or possibly a figment of your imagination," Wally argued. "I think maybe you and Zatanna are taking this holiday a bit too seriously."

"So, according to you, Zatanna was freed from her handcuffs completely on her own?"

"Maybe she used her own brand of hocus pocus to free herself, how should I know?" Wally suggested.

Artemis sat up with her legs tucked underneath her. "Wait, are you saying you don't believe in Zatanna's magic?" she asked incredulously. "Come on, you've seen her in action. You know what she's capable of. I thought you were coming around to the idea of magic."

"I'm a scientist," Wally told her. "I'll never fully come around to the idea of magic. Yeah, I know there are things that can't be explained by science, yet, but I draw the line at ghosts."

"Whatever, I know what I saw," Artemis said, grabbing a handful of popcorn. "Greta saved us tonight."

"Speaking of tonight," Wally said, sneaking a glance at her. "What made you and Zatanna ditch the Halloween party in the first place?"

Artemis swallowed harshly and thought back to earlier that night. She had entered the Cave genuinely excited for the dance, convinced that her costume was awesome and they were finally going to get to cut loose and have some fun. She was also looking forward, probably more than she should have been, to making Wally jealous by flirting with Conner, but then Zatanna had clued her into the fact that M'gann and Conner were together, thus ruining her plans for the evening. She had left the Cave incensed that once again she had been overlooked for M'gann. It was petty of her, but no girl liked to the constantly placed in the background in favor of their friend, not even her.

She realized Wally was still looking at her expectantly and sighed. "I, got into a fight with my mom earlier, so I wasn't really in the mood to party," she lied, avoiding his eyes and reaching down to snag some more popcorn.

He was silent for a moment. "You're lying," he said, and she whipped her head around so that she could see him. "Whenever you lie you always looking away from the person. I learned that in Bialya. And you get this little finger twitch thing, like you have to do something with your hands."

She opened her mouth to refute his claims, but he waved whatever she was going to say away. "I'm not gonna pry," he told her, a mischievous look on his face. "Although, color me mighty curious."

He rapidly changed the subject, which she was grateful for. She was, however, surprised that he'd noticed somewhere down the line how horrible a liar she was. She had never been that good at it, as Jade and her father had only been too happy to harp on, but she thought she had been improving a little bit. Apparently not if Wally, Kid Clueless, was calling her on her it. Then again, how close of attention was he paying to her?

"Well, now that I've heard all about your night, you have to hear about mine," Wally said eagerly.

He regaled her with tales of the Happy Harbour dance, including how most of the students had dressed as League members. The highlight of his story was without a doubt when he described the prank he, Conner, and M'gann had played on their friend Marvin. By the end of the story Artemis was actually clutched her sides, which were aching from her laughing so hard.

"And then Conner just showed up like nothing had happened?" she choked out.

"Yup," Wally answered, grinning widely. "It was classic! Best Halloween prank I've ever pulled."

Artemis chuckled, wiping a stray tear from her eye. It sounded like a fun night. "I'm kind of sad I missed it," she admitted to Wally.

"We'll just have to plan an even better prank for next year's Halloween," Wally assured her. He gave her a little half smile that she returned easily.

Suddenly she was more than aware of how close they were actually sitting to each other, the only thing between them was the now empty bowl of popcorn. Sometime during the conversation, Wally had slung his arm over the back of the couch so that it rested slightly behind her. He appeared to take notice as well, giving her a playful raised eyebrow. She made a quiet noise of amusement and licked her lips absentmindedly.

The action, however, drew Wally's eyes to them, perhaps bringing him back to himself. His smile faded and his eyes widened. Clearing his throat loudly, he leapt to his feet as if the couch was on fire. Artemis crossed her arms self-consciously. The moment had been broken. Again.

"I, uh, just remembered that my mom said I could have any candy that the trick-or-treaters didn't take," he told her, even as she looked down at her lap. "I better go and make sure my dad doesn't eat any of it."

"Yeah, you better," she echoed weakly. She chanced a look up at him and was slightly satisfied to see that he looked as conflicted as she felt.

He opened his mouth to say something but closed it immediately after. "Happy Halloween, Artemis," he said to her.

"You, too," she replied. He turned away from her and walked out of the living room towards the zeta tubes. She slouched back against the couch. This really wasn't going to work if he kept running away like this. Maybe she'd read all of the signs wrong. Maybe he just wasn't into her. She shook her head. It had been a very long night, and she didn't even want to begin to try and process what this meant for her and Wally. She was just glad that he was talking to her again.

She shut off the TV, collected her stuff, and followed Wally's path to the zeta tubes. All she wanted now was go home, take a nice hot shower and then slip into bed. She could think about her speedster problem tomorrow, when she had a clearer head.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** As always, please let me know how I'm doing! I think I'm going to skip Misplaced and get right to Coldhearted :) Who's POV do we want to see for that? Wally's or Artemis'? Or both? Let me know and I'll try to accommodate! Please review!

Also, I'm thinking about changing this story's title to **Between the Lines**. Let me know what you think!


	14. Friend II

**A/N:** I know what some of you are probably thinking! FINALLY. I know, because that's exactly how I feel! Sorry about the wait, but I had a real hard time with this chapter and only really got some inspiration for it last night. Anyway, I had a lot of people asking for Artemis' POV, for Wally's POV, and for both, so I decided to do both. First half of the chapter will be Artemis, and the second half will be Wally. :) Hope you enjoy!**  
><strong>

Set during **Coldhearted**.

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: T (just to be safe, it might go up later if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)

Characters: Artemis Crock, Wally West

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 14: Friend II

She wakes up in such a good mood the morning of the 11th. Her mother even makes a comment about it as she hands her a cup of tea at breakfast.

"I've always liked snow," she tells her, eyeing the steadily falling flakes visible from the kitchen window. She idly thinks that it's way too early in the season for snow and, hadn't the weatherman said it was supposed to be 50 degrees and sunny today? But she does like snow and school ends up getting cancelled, so she ignores the logical part of her brain that says something isn't quite right here.

Maybe the reason she's in such a good mood is because she had made a decision when she'd woken up this morning, a decision that had to do with one Wally West. Today was the young speedster's 16th birthday and, in her mind at least, the perfect day to tell him how she really felt. She'd been going back and forth about it for the past few days, but she was tired of trying to hide it. She couldn't get their encounter on Halloween out of her head. Wally's anger and self-loathing coupled with his concern. Their almost kiss...

The last week or so since their encounter that night had only been marred by their disappearing parents, and she had been pleasantly surprised to see a text from Wally after she'd gotten home that night. _Your mom safe and sound?_ was all it had said, and she had happily replied that _yes, she was fine and what about his parents?_thus beginning a text conversation that lasted for the next hour before they both succumbed to sleep.

There's something _there_; it's undeniable. Whether they are bantering back and forth or fighting alongside each other, it's plain to her that they have a connection. The thing with Wally is that she has fun with him. She enjoys every interaction, never misses an opportunity to call him on his crap, savors every touch, every look, every smile. She can't describe it. There's just this _spark_between them.

In the afternoon, she bundles up to leave the apartment and enjoys her snowy trek to the zeta tube. Gotham doesn't seem so dark and dreary when layered with the fluffy white stuff, and she's in high spirits as she steps into the Out of Order telephone booth that serves as Gotham's zeta.

At the Cave, she joins M'gann, Zatanna, and the boys in setting up for Wally's "surprise" party. The doofus had been throwing them hints left and right that'd he'd wanted a party, so they had all decided to humor him. Everything goes perfectly up until the point where Wally actually arrives. She doesn't know why she had expected everything to be different after their little "heart to heart" on Halloween, but he's right back to flirting with M'gann, and it's like a punch to the gut the way he's almost falling over himself trying to get a birthday kiss from her. She should really be focusing on the forlorn expression on Zatanna's face rather than the hopeful one on Wally's, but it's like a train wreck; she can't look away.

A horrible idea creeps up slowly on her, and she tries to ignore it;_ god, she really does_, but it's impossible. Her friend the green-eyed monster rears its ugly head and takes over her body. Today was supposed to be a drama free day. It's his birthday (_oh my gosh, it's his birthday_), sweet sixteen, and he's been so happy with the little party they'd put together, even though he hadn't been surprised in the slightest.

It's like a light's gone on in her head now, and it's getting brighter and brighter no matter how she tries to squelch it. "Think we should tell him?" she asks Zatanna and Robin, nodding to Kid Casanova.

"You're getting warmer, babe, but I can make you warmer still," Wally says to M'gann in a would-be seductive tone, oblivious to their audience.

Robin smirks. "He's the only one that doesn't know," he concedes.

Artemis puts aside the rational part of her that says that this is actually a despicable idea. "Then please, allow me," she says, pushing past them both.

She tells herself that she's doing it for his own good: that it's what a _friend _would do; that he'll thank her in the end, but really, who is she kidding? She's doing this for herself. Maybe if he knows it's a hopeless cause with M'gann, he'll stop mooning over her and realize that she's been here all along.

_Oh god, it's his birthday,_ is all she thinks as she sits down behind him. His festive party hat mocks her as it sits precariously atop his bright red hair. He stiffens as she places her hand on his shoulder and glances back at her in confusion. _Too late to turn back now_, she thinks, placing her mouth next to his ear. She doesn't want to embarrass him in front of everyone after all. It has nothing to do with wanting to be closer to him. Not at all.

"I hate to break it to you, Baywatch," she starts, trying to keep her mouth from curving into a vindictive smile, "But M'gann and Conner are together, if you know what I mean."

She watches him look up at M'gann feeding Conner a piece of cake and can almost hear the pieces fall into place in his head.

"Aw man!" he moans, slumping over in dismay, a hurt expression on his face.

_It's his_ **_birthday_**, a voice whispers incessantly in the back of her mind. _Bitch move_. And it kind of is. What kind of person tells someone that their crush is in a relationship with someone else on their birthday of all days? Before she can offer any words of comfort, heartfelt or not, the Batman's voice erupts over the loudspeaker.

"Attention Team, suit up: polar stealth," his voice directs them. "Mission briefing in five."

They all exchange glances before springing into action. She and Wally stand, Wally quickly going for the last piece of cake.

"Hey, Wally, I-" she starts, not exactly knowing what she is going to say, but it doesn't matter because he's already zipped away towards the locker room. With a resigned sigh, she follows.

It's a strange feeling, pulling on her polar stealth gear, knowing that she'd technically died in this same uniform, even though it hadn't been real. The failsafe experiment had been almost a whole month ago, and yet it was still fresh in all of their minds. The Team reconvenes in the briefing room, and she swears Wally does a double take when he sees her step into place next to him. His right hand clenches into a fist and his expression is distant, and she thinks that maybe his mind's eye is replaying her disintegrating into thin air amidst the frozen tundra.

She clears her throat. "Alright there, Kid?" she asks, pulling up the furry hood of her snowsuit.

His hand unclenches and he shakes his head slightly, eyes pulling back into focus. "Absolutely!" he says in only a slightly less exuberant tone than usual. "Looking forward to a little bday action!"

She loves how excited he gets about missions because it's the same feeling that she gets when she suits up to go out there. He lives and breathes being Kid Flash, and it's always been one of the things she's admired about him since they first met. This makes his crushed expression when Batman gives him the news that he won't be joining their League/Team collaboration all the more heartbreaking for her to watch. He puts on a brave face and accepts the retrieval and delivery mission Batman assigns him, but she can tell he's miserable. Artemis knows how much the team up would have meant to him since she's thrilled herself at the prospect, and she wishes she could say something, anything to cheer him up.

She can't though, and as he forlornly watches them board their respective transports, she feels guiltier than ever, thinking about her contribution to what must be his _worst_birthday ever.

***********  
><em>Best. Birthday. <strong>Ever<strong>_, Wally thinks to himself, exiting the locker room, intent on helping himself to some of his leftover cake. It isn't his birthday anymore, but with the way he's feeling, he might ride this birthday high all the way into next week.  
>He'd arrived back at the Cave in the wee early hours of the 12th after consuming as much hospital food, no matter how disgusting, as possible and saying a fond farewell to Queen Perdita. He'd felt as good as new, all fueled up, and would have gladly zipped across the country again if the zeta tubes hadn't been fully operational. Mount Justice seemed completely still when he'd arrived, it's occupants still slumbering away, and as soon as Wally gets his cake for a dessert-for-breakfast kind of thing, he'll be more than happy to join them.<p>

As he passes into the kitchen, he can hear the soft sounds of the TV in the living room. Instead of the normal "No Signal" screen, however, the national news is on. Wally walks over, wondering who forgot to turn the TV off last night, and stops dead in his tracks when he spies who's lying fast asleep on the couch. Artemis lays curled up into a ball, back facing the TV, hands clutching the remote. She's in the same clothes she'd been wearing at his party yesterday, so he can only gather that she'd never gone home after their mission the previous night.

He stares down at her, taking in the different features of her face, which doesn't even seem at peace while she sleeps. Her brow is furrowed and her lips drawn into a hard line as if something in her dreams displease her. Wally revels in this chance to study her unabashedly, to admire her striking features without worrying that she'll catch him. He's finally come to terms with the fact that no matter how hard he tries to push her to the back of his mind, she always creeps up on him in ways that make her impossible to ignore. And now that she's told him about M'gann and Conner, which he has to admit didn't hurt him as much as he would have thought, he has no real excuse to keep denying his feelings for her. And yet, it all seems rather pointless to him since he still has no reason to believe that she's interested in him in the slightest, so really it's all moot.

He doesn't want to just leave her there, not when she could move to a more comfortable place to sleep, and he's too nervous about trying to carry her to her room, so he has no choice but to wake her up. Wally tiptoes to the other side of the sofa and kneels down in front of her. The words come to him immediately, leaving his mouth unchecked.

"Hey, beautiful," he says, gently nudging her on the shoulder. "Wake up."

She stirs against his hand and an amusing, mewling sound leaves her. "Wally?" she asks, in that raspy voice of hers, and she hasn't even opened her eyes yet.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty," he tells her, eyes lingering on her enticing dark pink lips. If only he had the guts to seek a birthday kiss from the girl he'd really wanted it from.

She's becoming more alert by the second, her grey eyes drifting opening and looking up at him confusedly. Something seems to click in her eyes because she suddenly sits straight up.

"You're okay!" she exclaims, and he's entirely unprepared for her to throw her arms around him, squeezing them tight together.

Now he's the one confused, but as long as she keeps on hugging him so close he can practically feel her heartbeat against his chest, among other things, he's sure as hell not going to protest. He breathes in the flowery scent of her shampoo, and really, he's been an idiot all along if this is what he's been missing.

She starts talking a mile a minute into his shoulder, and he can barely understand her, but so long as she doesn't pull back, he couldn't care less. "I'm so sorry about Queen Perdita," she stammers. "I read about it, and she was very sick, so really there was nothing you could have done. And I'm so sorry about telling you about M'gann and Conner, on your birthday, too, of all days. I'm an awful person and-"

"Artemis, Artemis," Wally interrupts her hastily, pushing her away to arms length no matter how much the action pains him. His hands rest on her shoulders, and he notes her distressed expression. "First of all, Queen Perdita is fine. She and I set a trap for that clown Vertigo and he fell straight into it. Right now, he's on a one way ticket to Belle Reve."

"What?" she asks. "But, the news last night said she hadn't survived the surgery."

Wally shook his head. "We had the hospital feed the news stations a fake story as bait for Vertigo," he explains, and realization dawns on Artemis' face. So Wally moves on to address the other half of her little monologue. "And don't worry about the whole M'gann/Conner thing. It was a shock, but I'm over it," he says, and it's true. M'gann is just about the farthest thing from his mind what with Artemis so close to him.

She doesn't seem completely convinced though. "Are you sure?" she asks uneasily.

"Definitely," he reassures her. He shrugs self-deprecatingly. "The Wallman can't always get the girl, and you were just being a good friend, which is more than I can say for _Robin_. Right?"

"Right," she echoes, eyes fidgeting away from his.

He can sense that she's out of her comfort zone, and removes his hands from her shoulders. He casually slides next to her on the couch and they both stare at the screen for a few moments.

"I never gave you your birthday present," Artemis says suddenly, hopping up from the couch.

"You didn't have to get me anything," he says, although his excited tone may relay the curiosity that burns through him at what she might have gotten him.

"It's more of a gag gift than anything else," she tells him, disappearing into the kitchen. She reappears a minute later with a square shaped present covered in loud red and yellow lightning bolt symbols.

"Nice wrapping paper," he comments, taking the proffered present.

"I thought you'd like it," she replies, sitting back down next to him, tucking her legs underneath her. "Happy birthday, Wally."

He wastes no time in tearing into the paper and bursts out laughing at what he uncovers. "Baywatch, the Complete First Season."

Her voice echoes in his head from what seems like years ago. Whatever Baywatch, I'm here to stay. "I thought you could pick up some tips from these," Artemis quipped, a full out smile on her face.

"Uh, 'scuse me, Miss Thing," Wally retorts, giving her a sidelong glance. "Out of the two people on this couch, which of us has the worse track record when it comes to almost drowning?"

"Ha ha, very funny," she says, wrinkling her nose, a gesture that Wally finds entirely too cute for his fragile sanity.

"This is great, really, thank you," he tells her, opening the DVD case. "You up for watching a few episodes?"

"What, now?" she asks, looking at him like he's lost his mind, and maybe he has since it's 9:00 AM, and he should really be going to bed after the exhausting day and night he's had.

"Yeah," he simply answers because he can't think of anything he'd rather be doing than sitting here with her for a few hours, nothing to worry about besides trying not to blurt out that he likes her way more than a friend, but he thinks he can keep it in.

She rolls her eyes, but in a fond sort of way. "Fine, but only because it's your birthday," she says, settling in.

He's not going to remind her that it hasn't been his birthday for the last 9 hours. Instead he scurries over to the DVD player and pops in the first disc. He hops back onto the couch and situates himself next to her. Their hands lay side by side on the couch, and Wally wishes he could work up the nerve to grab her hand in his, but he thinks maybe it's too soon for that. As the iconic music starts up, he can't help but crack up, and beside him, Artemis begins laughing too, and really it has been the best birthday _ever_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hope it was worth the wait! Please let me know!

As usual, thank you all for reviewing and favoriting and following! You guys are the greatest and I hope to have the next chapter out soon! If anyone has anything they'd like to see in future chapters, just let me know! :)

Major thanks to **Intrajanelle** who lent me her idea that Wally and Artemis watch reruns of Baywatch together. Muchas gracias, chica! :)

**Plug**: I've started a companion series of one-shots to this story called **Actions Speak Louder. **All those stories are set in this universe of my Wally and Artemis headcanons, so I'd love all your thoughts on it! Thanks!

~Melissa


	15. Insecurity

**A/N:** Sorry once again for the wait everyone! I really wanted to get this out sooner but I've been so busy with real world stuff along with other little projects here and there! Thank you everyone for reviewing! This story has reached over 300 reviews and that is just MINDBLOWING! I read each and every single one and wish I had time to reply to them all! I hope this chapter was worth the wait. It's called Insecurity, which is fitting since it's set during Insecurity, but also because I think that during the first season, Wally is Artemis' insecurity. I don't know if that makes sense, but anyway, on with the chapter! **  
><strong>

Set during before and during **Insecurity**.

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 15: Insecurity

It's the little things about Wally that make her like him. On paper he's a cocky, flirtatious, loud mouth, but he's so much more than that, and she's just beginning to see it.

It's the way his whole face lights up when he talks about anything to do with science. He geeks out over a piece of chemistry homework she brings to the Cave one day, and they somehow end up working on it together. Not that she really needs help or anything, but he knows way more than Artemis would ever dream of knowing about amino acid structures, and she has to admit; it's kind of impressive. In the midst of their little study session, he regales her with stories of the summer his parents sent him to science camp at Stanford University when he was 10, and he even confides in her that he still thinks about going to Stanford for school.

"If, you know, the whole superhero thing doesn't work out," he says self-consciously, running a hand through his hair.

"I think it sounds like a great idea," she tells him.

She likes when he confides in her.

It's the way he pretends to whine when Black Canary pairs them up to be sparring partners. He says he hates getting his butt kicked by her, not even because she's a girl (he's equal opportunity like that, which is another thing she likes about him), just because it's her, but she knows better. She thinks he secretly enjoys when they get partnered together. He always has something extra witty to say to her. She wonders if he purposefully tries to get her to lose her composure. When she spars, she likes to remain focused and in control, but no one can make her crack a smile like Wally can, even when she's kicking his butt.

"You know, if I was allowed to use my powers, you would be flat on the floor right now," he grunts out, only just ducking a punch she throws to his head.

"Keep telling yourself that," she retorts, throwing a quick succession of hits in his direction. He blocks them, but ends up stumbling over his feet as he moves backwards. He's surprisingly clumsy without his superspeed. She hurries to turn him over, pulling his arm backwards, and jutting her knee into his back.

"I think you're enjoying this a bit too much!" he yelps, struggling in her grasp.

She grins. "You know it."

It's the way he sheepishly asks if her and her mom have any plans for Thanksgiving, and if they don't, would they like to come over to the Wests? She's taken aback and gaps at him speechlessly for about 5 seconds before he loses his nerve, face flushing with embarrassment.

"N-nevermind, it was, it was just a thought," he stutters out, turning away from her, trying to make a quick getaway.

Before she knows what she's doing, she grabs his hand in hers and explains with a blush on her cheeks that Ollie had already invited them to spend the holiday with him and Dinah, but it was sweet of him to think of them. She squeezes his hand in gratitude and he returns the gesture, mouth opening, ready to say something, but she never gets to hear it because Conner walks into the room and they both instantly retract their hands.

It's the way he always finds some reason to touch her, be it helping her up when she's knocked down or giving her a high five for bringing a batch of brownies she'd made in Home Ec. by the Cave. He always finds some way to touch her, and it makes her feel special, because, where hers towards him usually come in the form of elbows to the gut or slaps to the head, his touches are gentle and protective. It simultaneously scares her to death and gives her butterflies in her stomach.

The first snowfall of the year, well, natural snowfall anyway, the Team decides to venture outside of the Cave for a good old-fashioned snowball fight. After the girls beat the pants off of the boys, Artemis finds Wally lying on the ground moving his arms and legs back and forth across the snow.

"What're you doing?" she asks, standing above him.

"Making a snow angel!" he replies, voice brimming with childlike excitement. He scrambles up to look at his work. "What do you think?"

She scrutinizes the imprint he's left in the snow. "It's alright, I guess," she says, shrugging. "I've never made one before, so I'm not judge."

"What?" Wally exclaims as if she's just said something scandalous. "You've never made a snow angel before?"

She shakes her head, feeling self-conscious about her lack of a childhood. She's always loved snow, but she had never really been allowed to play in it.

Wally grabs her gloved hand in his. "Well, we're going to change that today," he vows before dragging her to a fresh spot and schooling her in the finer points of snow angel making.

Later, as they stand over her perfect snow angel he compliments her technique.

"I had a good teacher," she remarks, turning to him.

He beams in response before bursting into laughter. "You've got snow all over you," he tells her beginning to brush it off her shoulders and then her hair.

Their eyes seem drawn towards each other magically as Wally smooths away a few flakes from her hair and cheeks. Her heart hammers loudly in her eyes at how close they are. She can feel Wally's warm breath against her frigid cheeks.

"You know, it's said that no two snowflakes are ever exactly the same," he recites, swallowing harshly.

"I've read that somewhere," she replies faintly, watching him draw nearer and nearer. She might even be moving closer as well. The moment is finally here, what she's been waiting so patiently for...

And then the moment is broken by a cold snowball to Wally's face, the ice particles bouncing onto her as well. Robin's signature cackle a few yards away alerts them to who the culprit is.

She hates the interruption, but laughs at the way Wally immediately objects. _"Dude!"_

It's the way only Wally seems to notice how upset she is when Ollie announces that Roy's finally joined the Team. She doesn't miss the concerned look he gives her right after she makes the remark about the Team needing a real archer. She feels threatened, alright? She's only finally become sure of her spot on the Team, after months of overcoming the feeling like she doesn't belong, only to have to face her mother's confession and now the return of Roy, who was the archer they'd all wanted on the Team to begin with. And then to find out that the mission the boys are going on concerns her father? It's too much for her to take, so she rashly decides to interject herself into the mission, not even knowing what she's set out to accomplish. Is she trying to stop Sportsmaster from whatever he's up to or is she trying to make sure her father doesn't reveal anything she's tried so hard to keep from everyone.

She's freaking out as she pilots the bioship to New Orleans, but she must look more pissed off than anything because that's when Wally lays it on her. She'll never forget his words that night or what they mean to her. He calls her a real archer, like he's been dwelling on her words ever since they came out of her mouth. His rambling and generally fidgeting behavior as he tries to explain himself normally would have made her amused, but she remains cold as ice until he says the words that melt her heart.

"But you," he says, sincerity practically oozing from his every pore, his green eyes boring into hers. She hopes the skies are clear, because she's certainly not paying attention to anything other than him right now. "You've made your own place on the Team. You have nothing to prove. Not to me. Okay?"

It's the way that he surprises her with his words. Because, no one's ever said that to her before, that she didn't have to prove herself. She feels like she's spent her whole life trying to prove herself to someone: her father, her sister, Batman, Green Arrow, the Team; Wally specifically. For the first few weeks, he was like her insecurity made into human form, and it's amazing hearing these words coming from his mouth knowing that he means them; if the way he's looking at her is anything to go by, he means them with all of his heart. She closes her eyes against the huge wave of emotions welling up in her, the great relief. When she opens them, he's still looking at her expectantly.

"Okay," she concedes, and just to reassure him that maybe he shouldn't let his brain stop him from saying the things he really wants to, she calls back to him as he's turning away from her. He looks at her questioningly. "It sounded fine out loud."

She likes when he drops the obnoxious speedster act and just allows himself to be real with her.

It's the way he's protective of her on the mission that night. Helping her fend off Cheshire without making her feel like a helpless female. They make a good team. Cheshire disappears and his fingers are grasping her shoulders, sending shivers up her spine and leaving her momentarily paralysed, but he's off in a instant as soon as he spies Red and Aqualad. She's more nervous than ever that they're going to find out about her father and sister, and doesn't hesitate to fire a decoy tracker arrow onto the passing train. She hates the deception, but what's done is done.

It's the way Wally stands up for her against Red Arrow, first in New Orleans, and than back at the Cave when they arrive back after the horrible mission. She doesn't deserve it, but she's grateful nonetheless. It's almost miraculous when she thinks about how much has changed between them since their first meeting. If it had been only a few short months ago, he most likely would have been on Roy's side rather than staring him down.

"You know, I'm getting pretty tired of you dumping on her," Wally says, placing himself between her and Red. It's that protective thing again, but it's all for nothing. Roy reveals what part she's played in the failure of the mission, and then it's Artemis who's suddenly staring down an irate speedster, his green eyes filled with disbelief and disappointment. That latter emotion might be the one that kills her the most.

"Artemis?" When it comes clear she has nothing to say, his expression grows hard. "Are you that freaked out about Red joining the Team you had to prove yourself by bringing down the bad guys solo? _Please_tell me I'm wrong."

It's the way Wally doesn't assume the worst about her. The way he's angry with her not because she was purposefully leading them away from their targets, but because he thought his words to her on the bioship had been meaningless. Nothing could be further from the truth, but she can't say anything, can't even defend herself. If she tries to tell him that it wasn't because she was trying to ensure her spot on the Team, what other reason could she give? He hasn't accused her of being the mole, not like she suspects Red Arrow is close to doing, but if she tells him the truth, tells them all the truth, how will they ever believe her when she renounces her family? She'll never be able to stand the looks of hatred in their eyes so, even though she's dying to say something, even opens her mouth to refute his claims, she falls back, eyes planted on the ground.

"Well, nice going," he says, the harsh sarcasm in his voice making her physically cringe. She can't even meet his eyes right now. "What you proved is that you're insecure and selfish."

His words coupled with the tossing of Jade's sai at her feet make her feel oddly hollow inside, but she doesn't allow her expression to betray her. She hasn't felt like this since the very first days of her joining the Team. Everyone scatters as if she's become a pariah, and it makes her want to curl up in a ball and cry, but that will have to wait until she's home. Red Arrow's warning to her barely register for her because Wally's voice is echoing around in her head.

_You're insecure and selfish. Insecure and selfish. Insecure._

She can't help but think that he has a way with words.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I try to mix it up with different tenses between chapters, so this might have been a little weird, but I hope you enjoyed the different snippets of their relationship! Please review and let me know what you think! :)


	16. Dream

**A/N:** OMG. This chapter and I are in a love/hate relationship. Love because I really do like it and hate because it took me forever to get out! I'm so sorry guys! I really, REALLY had hoped to get this out for a Christmas present, but it's more like a Happy 2013 present! I just want to thank **justplainsomething** from Tumblr for helping my muse along and giving me this idea. Her idea was a little difficult but it spurred me on nonetheless! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Set during before and during **Performance**.

**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.**

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 16: Dream

His head was pounding when he slowly drifted towards consciousness. He couldn't remember what it was he'd been doing right before he'd fallen asleep that would give him such a headache, but he hardly cared what with how warm and snuggly he was in his bed. He shifted his weight around and shoved his face deeper into his pillow, which smelled inexplicably of lavender. He inhaled deeply, idly wondered when his mom had started using a new fabric softener.

"I know you're awake, so quit pretending," a husky voice said right next to his ear, giving him goosebumps. He stiffened upon feeling lips caressing down his neck. "Merry Christmas, babe."

His eyes popped open immediately, and, though the lips should have been a giveaway, he was jolted wide awake by the realization that there was a girl in bed with him. An honest to goodness, living, breathing, girl. And not just any girl; he would have recognized those grey eyes anywhere, even if they were full of sleep.

"Ah!" Wally yelled, falling back over the edge of the bed in his hurry to get away from her. He fell to the floor in a tangle of sheets and was suddenly very much aware of the fact that he was wearing only a set of boxer shorts.

"Wally, what the hell?" he heard _Her_ hiss as he lay in a heap on the carpet. He jumped to his feet, drawing the sheets tight around his bare upper torso.

"Wha-what're you doing in my bed?" he asked, mentally trying to jumpstart his brain into remembering exactly what had happened last night. His eyes flitted around nervously, and he quickly realized that this wasn't in fact his room nor was it his bed.

Artemis - impossible, stubborn, beautiful, amazing Artemis - looked at him in concern, raising a wry eyebrow. "Well, usually when people are married they share a bed," she explained. "Not that you were ever very good at sharing-"

"M-m-married?" Wally sputtered, feeling his heart skip a shocked beat in his chest. He looked down at his left ring finger, only just now feeling the weight of the gold band there.

"Yes, _married_," Artemis repeated impatiently. "You know, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part? Is this ringing any bells?"

Wally felt all of the blood drain from his face as he went into full panic attack mode. _Married?_ He was only 16! He didn't even have his driver's license yet! Hadn't even graduated from high school! Hell, his voice still cracked sometimes when he spoke! He couldn't be _married_! And to Artemis? He hadn't even spoken to her outside of missions since the New Orleans fiasco, although he wasn't enjoying giving her the silent treatment. How could they be..._married_?

Artemis slipped out of bed, giving Wally an eyeful of what she was wearing; a slinky purple negligee, the kind of which he'd only peeped at in the Victoria's Secret catalogues that his mother embarrassingly enough subscribed to. It left little to the imagination and Wally averted his eyes towards the side, feeling his face grow hot. He let out an audible gasp as he caught sight of himself in the mirror. Or at least he thought it was himself. He was older somehow. Gone was the gangly, freckled face Wally West he'd been when he'd fallen asleep. In his place was a man; one with his same unruly red hair and pale skin, but with broad shoulders and a lean powerful torso. He turned his face from side to side. His cheeks were chiseled, all baby fat gone along with, surprisingly enough, his freckles. If he hadn't been so shocked he would have preened over how good he looked.

"Are you feeling okay, babe?" Artemis asked, using as warm a tone as he'd ever heard her use in his presence. She had made her way over to him and was staring up at him with worry evident in her eyes. He would have seen the worry if he'd been able to lift his eyes from looking down the front of her low cut top. _Don't stare at her chest, don't stare at her chest, she can kick your ass!_ Wally thought frantically, averting his eyes once again. He spied a robe of the same material as her nightie flung over a nearby chair and grabbed it.

"F-f-fine, here, lemme just, put this on you," Wally mumbled, trying to drape the robe over her front.

"Wally, what-?"

"There we go!" He stepped away from her, satisfied to see that the robe was covering her from head to toe. She stared at him blankly before taking the robe off. "Hey!"

"Wally, really, what has gotten into you?" she asked, tugging the robe on the correct way. Wally breathed a little easier when she closed it and tied it tight around her. "You weren't even this bad when we first started dating."

Wally chuckled weakly. "Yeah, uh, just for, uh, old time's sake, when was that exactly?" he asked.

He had noticed by now that it wasn't just him that appeared to be older; Artemis had aged as well. She was, if it were possible, even more beautiful than she'd been when he'd last seen her. Her blonde hair fell in waves around her face, and was a little shorter, reaching only a few inches past her shoulders. She'd filled out in all of the right places, and he could feel his cheeks turning red at the thought of all that supple skin he'd seen before he'd thrown the robe over her.

"Really, how hard is it to remember an anniversary that's on New Year's?" Artemis scoffed. "And I thought Valentine's Day was bad..."

Wally took a deep breath, trying as hard as he could to not have a panic attack. He was dreaming. He had to be. There was no other explanation to be had except for those that he ruled out as being scientifically impossible. A dream, that was it. After all, how else would such a crazy scenario as this be created. Him and Artemis, married? There was no way. The apocalypse happening was more likely than that. He wasn't even sure Artemis liked him, which made his feelings for her that much more pathetic. No, he was sure he would wake up soon and have this all be a dream. He just had to go with the flow until then.

"New Years, duh!" Wally told her playfully. "I was just testing you!"

Artemis regarded him warily for a second before sighing and rolling her eyes. "Uh huh," she said. Her features became coy and she stepped closer to him, clasping her hands behind his neck. "Can I finally have my Christmas kiss, then?" she asked, her voice practically purring.

"Uh, uh, sure," Wally stuttered, transfixed by her inviting eyes and her lithe body so close to his. And really, if he was dreaming, why not enjoy it as much as he could? Especially seeing as how it would never happen.

He untangled his arms from the sheets just in time to wrap them around her waist as she pressed her lips to his. He was struck dumb by how right it felt, as though kissing her was the most natural thing in the world. His mouth knew exactly what to do, slanting over Artemis' soft pink lips gently at first, and then with increasing fervor. He let his body take over and was rewarded with her moan at the touch of his tongue to hers, the sound sending shivers down his spine. He suddenly had the uncontrollable urge to be even closer to her, so he hoisted her up by her thighs, and her legs naturally wrapped around his waist, like they belonged there. His mind was racing even as his lips kept moving. This had to be a dream. It was too good to be true, and yet it felt so real. She felt so real.

A crash in a room nearby and a dog's barking, followed by shushing sounds startled them both out of their embrace. Artemis leaned her forehead against Wally's as she sought to catch her breath.

"I was hoping the kids would stay asleep longer," she commented, sliding back down onto her feet and retying her robe, which had come undone.

Wally mourned the loss of her in his arms even as he processed her words. "Kids?" he squeaked out, the word getting caught in his throat.

Artemis arched an eyebrow. "You know, for one of the fastest men alive, you are being awfully slow this morning."

She left him there, jaw gaping wide. "Jaden and Ellie West, don't you dare touch those presents!" Wally heard her yell down the hallway.

He dug his fingers through his hair, feeling his panic from earlier returning with a vengeance. Children? Marriage was one thing, and his subconscious was obviously enjoying playing that trick on him, but kids were a whole different story. He took a deep breath, trying to convince himself that it couldn't be as bad as he was imagining.

After seeking out a robe for himself, he cautiously ventured out into the hallway of what looked like a modest two-story home. He shuffled down the stairs and was greeted at the bottom by an old white pitbull. The dog barked at him in greeting, and Wally knelt to pet him on the head.

"Hey, boy," he said, noting the name on the worn collar: Nelson.

The dog barked in his face and left a wet present on his sleeve before trotting away. Wally followed him into what must have been the living room and wasn't quite prepared for what awaited him there. In front of a big Christmas tree stood Artemis with a little girl situated on her hip, her strawberry blonde hair gleaming in the lights, and, running circles around them was a red-headed little boy, his hair the same shade as Wally's. _He's got my superspeed_, Wally thought in amazement, watching the boy zip around the tree. He noticed Wally standing there almost immediately and was in front of him within an instant.

"Dad, Dad!" the boy, Jaden, exclaimed, speaking so quickly, it was a miracle Wally understood him. "Did you see all the presents Santa brought us? How many do you think there are? What should I open first? I hope he brought me the new game I wanted!"

"I'm sure he did, sport," Wally answered, though the boy had already returned to inspect the presents piled under the tree.

"Daddy!" he heard a little voice say, and the word should have sounded strange to his ears, but for some reason it didn't. Artemis put the little girl, Ellie, down and she ran straight to him.

He instinctively bent to pick her up and settled her on his hip as he'd seen Artemis do; as he himself had done only last month in the Happy Harbour High gym.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy!" she greeted brightly. Her green eyes, identical to his own, sparkled with excitement. He felt his heart melt. He'd always had a soft spot for kids, and there was no doubt about it that she was adorable.

He kissed her on the forehead. "Merry Christmas, princess," he replied, the endearment rolling off of his tongue effortlessly.

Wally could feel eyes on him from across the room, and he turned his attention from the little girl in his arms to Artemis. She was wearing an expression that he'd only seen on a few people before. It was the dopey look Uncle Barry got on his face whenever his Aunt Iris happened to be in the room. It was the fond gleam in his aunt's eyes whenever Barry was making a fool of himself. It was his dad's adoring smile whenever his mom handed him his cleanly pressed laundry, or the way his mom always laughed at his dad's jokes even if they weren't funny. It was love. The kind of love that only comes with knowing someone inside and out. And the fact that Artemis was looking at him like that was simultaneously amazing and terrifying.

He swallowed down the lump in his throat and made his way over to her, casually throwing his free arm around her shoulders and drawing her close to him. He hoped she couldn't tell that his hands were shaking.

He tried to take a deep, calming breath. "Well, these presents aren't going to open themselves, are they?"

* * *

><p>In what seemed like no time at all, the room was full of torn wrapping paper and new toys. Wally watched fondly as Jaden inspected his new bike. For a son created by his subconscious, he was a pretty cool kid. Little Ellie was an angel, as well; although her sweet disposition reminded him more of his Aunt Iris than Artemis. Speaking of his 'wife,' she was opening her last present. Wally watched her read the tag on a small white box tied with a green ribbon.<p>

"To, My Little Spitfire," Artemis read, a smile on her lips. "Love, Your Baywatch. Aww, thanks, babe."

Wally winked at her, as curious to see what was inside the present as she was. Artemis unwrapped the bow carefully and opened the box. She gasped softly, and Wally leaned closer to look inside. Nestled in the tissue paper was a silver bracelet, decorated with several different charms. He could see a bow and arrow, a mortarboard cap, the Eiffel Tower; even the Flash's lightning bolt symbol was there.

"Wally, it's beautiful," Artemis said softly, lifting the bracelet out of the box and admiring it.

"You like it?" he asked, wishing he knew the meaning behind some of the charms, like the tiny surfboard or the Stanford University logo. He didn't know why it mattered so much to him to know. This was a dream after all.

"I love it," she assured him, leaning over to press her lips quickly to his. She pulled back and held the bracelet out to him. "Help me put it on?"

He complied, wrapping the silver chain around her wrist and clasping it shut securely. He didn't let go of her hand, though, enjoying the warmth of it in his, the connection. It was cruel, he realized suddenly. It was cruel of his subconscious to show him this when it could never be. He felt his earlier nausea returning. He wanted to wake up and he wanted to wake up _now_-

_-Wally walked through the Cave, bologna sandwich in hand, mulling over Dick's reasons for not wanting him on the Haley's Circus mission. As his best friend he wanted to be there for him, but Wally knew how hard it was for Dick to admit any weakness. He was sure the Team would figure out what was going on even without his help. _

_He ambled down the hallway to the training facilities at the Cave, figuring if he couldn't be on a mission, he might as well get some rec time in. However, just as he was brushing away the last crumbs of his sandwich off of his hands, he heard a noise that gave him a pause. It sounded like someone was...crying. He moved a little ways down the corridor, the sound getting louder and louder. He came to a halt right in front of a door. Wally gulped when he realized it was Zatanna's door. The poor girl just hadn't been her usual bubbly, mischievous self since her father had promised himself to Dr. Fate. Wally rued the day he'd ever put that godforsaken helmet on his head. _

_Wally sighed. He couldn't just walk by and pretend he hadn't heard her. Plus, it was Christmas time, the best time of the year. He didn't want anyone to feel alone on Christmas. He tentatively raised his fist up and knocked on her door, the sound echoing in the empty hallways of the Cave._

_"Zatanna?" he called out, shuffling his feet nervously. He never knew what to do with crying girls. _Maybe I should have called Black Canary_, he thought. _

_"J-just a second," came Zatanna's response from within. After a few seconds, the door opened and the dark haired girl smiled weakly at him, her blue eyes bloodshot and watery. "Oh, hey, Wally. I didn't realize anyone else was here. You didn't go on the mission?"_

_"Nope," he replied, shrugging. He threw his hands in his pockets for lack of a better place to put them. "Was just passing by, thought I'd see how you're doing."_

_Zatanna chuckled darkly. "Well, as you can see, I'm a mess," she said, her voice taking on a high pitched, strained tone. She retreated into her room, leaving the door open, and Wally took that as an invitation to follow. He stepped over threshold, taking note of the many boxes that still sat unpacked around her room. Wally figured she couldn't bring herself to unpack them, as though settling in would make it all too real. His heart broke for her. _

_"It's okay to be upset," Wally reasoned, sitting beside her on her bed. She had curled herself into a ball, resting her chin forlornly on her knees. "No one would think any less of you."_

_Zatanna sighed. "I know, but if I let myself go just once, I'll fall apart," she whispered. "It's just, it's really hard, especially during this time of year. Christmas is mine and my dad's favorite holiday. I've never spent it without him," she told him, wiping away a couple tears that had trickled down her cheeks. "I just wish I could see him again..."_

_Her voice trailed off at the end, but not as if she was finishing her sentence, but as if something had given her a pause. _

_"What?" he asked hesitantly._

_"Of course!" she exclaimed, suddenly standing up. "Why didn't I think of it before?"_

_"Think of what before?" Wally repeated, getting up as well. A sense of foreboding began to inexplicably form in the pit of his stomach. _

_Zatanna turned to him, her blue eyes looking more alive and vibrant than he had seen in weeks. "There's a spell my dad does, or used to do," she added after a second. "The spell allows a person's mind to travel back in time to relive a memory. Zatara used it all the time to help witnesses remember crimes they'd seen." _

_"And you can do this spell?" Wally asked uncertainly. Magic ranked only slightly below religion in his book of skepticality, and only because he'd seen some pretty inexplicable things since he'd put on Dr. Fate's helmet. As always, Kent Nelson's words came back to him: _Believe in what you can no longer deny.

_"Well, I know the basics," she said nonchalantly. "Practice makes perfect, too, and I know just the person to help me do that."_

_It was a second before Wally realized she was looking at him expectantly. _

_"Wally?"_

"Wally?"

Wally blinked, trying to focus on the three sets of concerned eyes on him. Jaden poked his cheek hard, and Wally snapped back to attention.

"Hey, quit it, kid," he said, rubbing his cheek. Jaden, Ellie, and Artemis were all gathered in front of him, Artemis on her knees, staring at him like he'd suddenly grown two heads. He flicked his eyes over from one face to another, finally settling on Artemis' for an explanation. "What happened?"

"You tell us," she retorted, arms around both of her children, almost as if she were protecting them. For what, though? From him? "One second you were here, and then it was like you were a million miles away. You completely spaced out for almost two minutes."

A small sniffle drew both of their attentions to Ellie, whose eyes had welled up with tears. Wally's heart dropped at the sight of her distress and went to comfort her, but Artemis beat him to it.

"It's okay, sweetheart," she reassured her, wiping away the little girl's tears with her thumbs. "Daddy's fine, see?" she asked, prompting Wally to smile as best he could. "Come on, let's find a place for all your new toys up in your room," she suggested, her eyes flicking up at Wally tensely. She smiled down at Ellie, however, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she stood up. "You, too, Jaden."

The kids began to collect their toys, and Artemis gathered up her presents as well, resolutely not looking at him now. Wally jumped up, trying to grab her hand.

"Artemis-"

She discreetly, for the children's sake he guessed, slid her hand away. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you today," she said under her breath, "But when we come back downstairs, you'd better have it together, got it?"

The warning in her tone was not to be misunderstood, so Wally nodded hastily in response. In a split second her glare turned into a bright smile as she turned back to Ellie and Jaden, shooing them out of the room.

Wally released a deep breath as soon as they were gone. He shut his eyes tight against the panic that swelled up inside of him again, before opening them. His feet took him to the bathroom, and he closed the door behind him and leaned his back against it. What in the blazes was going on? What was that he'd just had? Was it possible to have a dream within a dream?

He swung around to face the mirror and was once again startled by his own reflection. The face in the mirror was so familiar except with subtle differences. It was like getting a sneak peek at what he would look like years into the future.

"Wake up, West," he said out loud, his voice echoing slightly off the tiles of the bathroom floor. Nothing happened, causing him to groan in frustration. "_Wake up_-"

_Wally met Zatanna's expectant expression with an incredulous one of his own. _

_"Who, me?" he asked, touching his fingers to his chest. "No no no no no. No, you don't want me to help. Dr. Fate said it himself: my body is magically challenged or something like that. So, really, no, sorry, I can't."_

_Even before he'd finished speaking, her lower lips had started curling into a pout, while her big blue puppy dog eyes peered up at him. He couldn't avoid them. _

_"Please, Wally," she pleaded, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I just want to see my dad. You know, remember the happier times."_

_"Won't that, I don't know, possibly mess with the time stream?" he asked, a last ditch effort to get out of this. _

_She shook her head, however. "It's not like I can go back and change what happened. I could experience it again, but what happens during the spell doesn't affect what's already occurred. It's hard to explain," she told him, getting back to the point. "Please, Wally, let me just practice it on you once. I'm sure I can pick it up. If I get it wrong, the worst that can happen is you'll be asleep for a few minutes."_

_She appeared so hopeful and confident that Wally couldn't say no again. He heaved a deep sigh. "Okay, fine."_

_"Yes!" Zatanna cheered, giving him a quick hug before leaping back. "All right, sit here," she instructed, leading him to sit on her bed again. "Now, for this to work, you have to focus on one thing. A single memory or moment in time that you want to go to."_

_Wally tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him this was the worst idea ever and do as she bid him. What moment did he want to experience over again? Maybe the forming of the Team? Or the trap he'd sprung on Count Vertigo to save the little Queen Perdita? No, as awesome as both of those memories were, there was one moment that stuck out in his mind. It had occurred only a few short weeks ago, but his anger and disappointment had already tainted his memory of their conversation on the bioship: Artemis' hard glare melting with only a few words, words he'd been afraid to say for fear of her rejection. _

_"Got your moment?" Zatanna asked him. He nodded in response, and she arranged her hands close to his temple. "All right, think of that moment and only that moment."_

_He closed his eyes, recalling the way Artemis' grateful smile had made him believe, for the first time, that the two of them could be something; that they could have a future together. He wasn't talking marriage and kids or anything, but it had made him think-_

_"Emit si fo eht ecnesse!"_

When he came back to himself, Wally was staring at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes widened as realization struck him like a lightning bolt. He wasn't dreaming within a dream, he was _remembering_. And this wasn't a dream at all...It was the future!

_But it can't be! _Wally thought, fingers gripping his hair wildly. Zatanna's spell was meant to help people relive the past, not send them to the future. This couldn't be the future! It was too impossible, too improbable, too...perfect! There was no way he could be in the future!

"Wally?" he head Artemis say outside the door. She didn't wait for his response, instead, turning the knob and letting herself in. Her brow was furrowed and her grey eyes were full of worry. "Babe, you're starting to scare me, not to mention the kids. What's going on?"

He tentatively cupped her cheek in his hand, gratified when she didn't pull away. She brought her own up to press it over his, and her wedding ring, a wedding ring that he'd bought for her at some point, glittered in the light.

"If I told you," he said haltingly, "That the last thing I remember is being at the Cave while you, Rob, and the others were in Europe investigating Haley's Circus, what would you say?"

Artemis' lips parted in shock, and he thought she was going to step away from him, but she didn't. She searched his face for any sign that said he might be pulling her leg, and he kept it as serious as possible.

"I would say," she started, the words seeping out slowly, "That that's the first thing you've said all day that's made any sense."

Wally heaved a sigh of relief. She believed him. She wasn't running to find her arrows and use him for target practice. _Maybe there really is a God_, he thought.

He was startled by her sudden intake of breath. "Zatanna's spell!" she gasped, looking at him in amazement now. "We knew it went wrong, I guess we just didn't know _how_ wrong."

"I thought I was dreaming," Wally told her, scratching his head.

"Glad to know I starred in your teenage fantasies, Baywatch," she teased, causing Wally's ears to turn bright red. Artemis chuckled at his expense. "This is too much fun," she said, before gesturing for him to follow her.

"Fun?" he echoed incredulously, surprised that he was being so nonchalant about this. He lowered his voice as he trailed after her to the kitchen just in case Ellie and Jaden were nearby. "This isn't _fun_. This is weird! How do I-how do _we _end up _married_?"

Artemis began taking out ingredients here and there for breakfast, enough to feed an army of speedsters it seemed to Wally. "We fell in love, Wally," she said, impatiently brushing a wayward strand of hair out of her face. "Crack those eggs for me, will you?" she asked him, before returning to the subject. "I stopped shutting everyone out, and you were there for me to open up to. You grew up and followed your dreams, and together we made a life for ourselves."

It seemed so simple to Wally when she put it like that, but he still had questions. "Are we still heroes?" he asked hesitantly, carefully cracking the eggs as she'd instructed.

"Yes, although we weren't for a time," she answered cryptically. He decided to leave that as it was.

"And the kids, Jaden has my superspeed," he started. "He didn't try to-"

"He didn't try to recreate the Flash's experiment like you did," Artemis assured him. "It's genetic, as I suspect it will be with Ellie when she gets older."

It took Wally a second to digest that. He'd never thought his powers would be inherited by his children. Jaden was very young, also; a lot younger than he'd been when he'd gotten his powers. The kid probably drove them both nuts.

"They're a handful," Artemis told him, probably guessing at his thoughts. "But after you, they're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Wally stopped cracking the eggs and turned to watch her stir up a large bowl of pancake batter. "Are we, are we happy?" he asked her, startled by how much he craved the answer. Did they fight all the time or did they get along? Were they one of those lovey dovey couples or did they keep their affection hidden behind closed doors? Were they still passionate about each other or had the love faded with age? He suddenly wanted to know everything.

Artemis let the spoon she was holding fall to the side of the bowl and turned to meet his gaze. "Yes," she said simply, and that one word lifted the heavy weight on his chest. "Happier than we ever dreamed we could be." She walked across the kitchen to him and slid both of his hands in hers. "I won't lie to you, it hasn't been a smooth road to get to where we are today. There are things that will happen in your future that make you question everything you thought you knew. But we get through it just like we always have. Together."

He couldn't swallow the urge to hold her, and when he realized he didn't have to, Wally pulled her into his arms, tucking his head against hers. Just as before, he couldn't ignore how right she felt in his embrace, how they seemed to fit together like two puzzle pieces. This was _real_, and it was scary, but he couldn't deny that he wanted it more than anything.

_"Please, wake up. I, I know we haven't been on the best of terms these last few weeks, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you. Because I do care. A lot. Ugh, what am I doing? I bet you can't even hear me."_

Wally pulled back from Artemis abruptly, startling her. She gave him a questioning look.

"Did you say something?" he asked.

"No," she replied, drawing out the word in confusion.

"But I heard you say, at least it sounded like you," he asserted. He gazed down at her as her voice came to him again, only this time he was sure she wasn't moving her lips.

_"I just want you to know that I'm...sorry for not listening to what you said on the bioship. I know I didn't show it, but those words meant a lot to me."_

Was he going mad now? Hearing voices? Wide-eyed, he met Artemis' gaze once more. She seemed unfazed, almost as if she knew what was happening.

"It's me," she told him, although she corrected herself almost immediately. "Or me in your present. I'm calling you back home. You should be waking up soon, if I remember right."

"Oh," was all he said, feeling oddly hollow at the thought of leaving this place behind; or forward, depending on how you looked at it. Something dawned on him though. "You know, this could totally throw the timestream out of whack, me being here, seeing all of this; knowing what's going to happen."

But Artemis was shaking her head. "No, it won't," she stated. She paused for a moment, looking down and taking a deep breath. When she looked back up, her eyes were filled with sympathy. "Because you won't remember any of this."

Wally became deadly still, processing her words. "What?" he asked in a low, serious tone. "I won't remember anything?"

"You might for a few minutes or so, but not much past that," she explained, shrugging. "I think my Wally would've mentioned it if he'd remembered something like this."

_"Just wake up, Wally. It's Christmas. You're missing out on all the food. I'm sure your family's worried sick. Just...please? I think I'm actually beginning to miss the sound of your annoying voice."_

"But I don't want to forget," Wally protested frantically, ignoring the Artemis in his head in order to focus on the one in front of him. "I don't want to forget Ellie, or Jaden, or Nelson, or-or you. I-"

"Shh," Artemis soothed, laying a finger against his lips, halting his rambling. "Don't think of it as forgetting. You'll see us again someday. I promise."

_"Maybe a Christmas kiss will wake Sleeping Buffoon here."_

Wally nodded reluctantly, a lump in his throat preventing him from talking. Artemis shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "Here, something to remember me by," she said, and she grabbed the back of his head and brought his lips down to hers. Wally made the most of it, responding eagerly to her kiss and lamenting that their embrace was over so quickly.

Artemis pulled back first. "I think it's about time I got my husband back, don't you think?"

* * *

><p>He woke up in bed again, but this time the beeping of the machines in the infirmary made it clear exactly where he was. He struggled against the heavy pull of unconsciousness and fought to open his eyes just as he tried to retain all that had happened to him. <em>Ellie, Jaden, Nelson, Artemis, New Years. Ellie, Jaden, Artemis, New Years. <em>His eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Wally?" he heard a voice ask in disbelief. Artemis' voice. _Christmas kiss, My Little Spitfire, the Eiffel Tower._ "Are you awake?"

"New Years," he mumbled. He had to tell her about New Years. He didn't want to forget. But he was starting to forget what he was supposed to remember. _Ellie, Artemis, New Years._

"Zatanna, Tornado, he's awake!" Artemis announced, and he could just make out her outline through the bright lights.

"Artemis, _New Years_," he insisted, the fog of sleep clearing up. He didn't know what was so special about New Years. Just that it had something to do with her.

"It's Christmas, Wally," Artemis told him, brushing back his hair. The gesture was soothing and surprised him, although, for some reason, he felt like it shouldn't have. "New Years isn't until next week."

Wally surveyed the room around him, slowly becoming more alert. "What, what am I doing in the infirmary?" he asked, his throat dry and his voice hoarse from lack of use. "How long have I been asleep for?"

The blonde archer started to speak, but was interrupted by the entrance of Zatanna and Red Tornado. Zatanna let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw him awake, while Tornado immediately went to check his vitals. Wally absentmindedly noticed Artemis retract her hand and clasp it along with the other in her lap.

"Wally, oh my gosh, I, how are you feeling?" Zatanna asked frantically. "I'm _so_ sorry. I never meant for this to happen!"

"What exactly _did_ happen?" he asked, scratching an itch on the top of his head. His gaze slid over to Artemis, and he couldn't figure out why she suddenly looked so different to his eyes. It occurred to him that this was probably the first civil words they'd spoken to each other in the last couple of weeks. Their eyes locked for a moment before they both looked away awkwardly.

"My spell didn't work for some reason," Zatanna told him, hanging her head. "You should have only been out for a few minutes at the most, but you were unconscious for so long that you slipped into a coma. Did anything happen while you were out? Could you hear us speaking to you?"

He felt like there was something important he was forgetting, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. "I don't think so," he said, looking from Zatanna to Artemis, whose expression seemed a mix of relief and disappointment. Again, something tugged on his heart when he looked at her.

His lips tingled suddenly, and his fingers flew up to press against them. "Must've been a doozy of a dream, though," he joked distractedly. He vaguely recalled lips being pressed to his softly.

He was startled out of his thoughts by Artemis scrambling up out of the chair at his bedside. "I, I have to go," she told them, gathering up her things. Her eyes looked over at him quickly before flicking away. Was that a blush on her cheeks? "Merry Christmas, everyone."

She was out the door before he could respond, and he turned to Zatanna for an explanation. She shrugged, but had a small, knowing smile on her face that had Wally scratching his head again. Red Tornade declared him to be in perfect health and removed all of his IV's before leaving to go do whatever robot den mothers do on Christmas.

"So, you really don't remember anything from when you were asleep?" Zatanna asked him.

He strained his brain, thinking back on his dream. Everything was a bit fuzzy, but he remembered vaguely a dog, something about eggs, the color purple, and he was almost certain that Artemis had been in the dream at some point. He cursed his subconscious for making him dream about her when he was still mad about what had happened in New Orleans. All he wanted to do was forget about his stupid feelings for her, which was next to impossible it seemed.

"It's mostly just a blur of this and that," he said before changing the subject. "So, do you want to come to my house for Christmas dinner?"

Zatanna looked perfectly surprised before looking down shyly. "Oh, no, I couldn't intrude. Not after being the cause of you being late."

"Please," he pleaded, hurriedly tying his sneakers. "I'm sure my folks would love to have you. Just think of all the food! Turkey. Stuffing. Mashed potatoes!" His stomach was practically growling just thinking about it.

"Well, if you're sure," she said hesitantly.

"You're coming," he insisted, a big grin on his face.

Zatanna returned his smile gratefully. "Thanks, Wally."

"Of course," he told her. "What're friends for?"

He absentmindedly licked his lips as they left the room, heading towards the zeta tubes. They tasted vaguely of strawberries, except he'd obviously not had anything to eat in a couple days. A thought dawned on him, stopping him in his tracks. Zatanna noticed he wasn't keeping up with her, and turned to look at him, a question in her eyes.

"Zatanna, which of you girls wears strawberry chapstick?" he asked, already knowing the answer from the many times of watching her put it on.

The young magician squinted her eyes in thought. "Um, Artemis, I think," she finally said. "Why?"

Wally absently licked his lips again. "No reason."

* * *

><p><em>tbc<em>

**A/N: **Well? I hope it was well worth the wait! I really wanted a kind of special little holiday centric chapter, especially considering it is that time of year both presently and in the episode Performance. Please let me know what you think. Special thanks to **TheRantDragon** for proofreading and **iloveyou-iknow** for letting me bounce ideas off of her in my google doc.

Also, a big THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I wish I had time to respond to you all, but I unfortunately don't. Do know that I read and cherish all of your reviews. Thank you so much!

~Melissa


	17. Anomaly

**A/N:** Almost a two month wait! I'm the worst, I'm so sorry! Thank you all for your reviews! I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Most reviews I think I've had since my Failsafe chapter! A couple of you compared last chapter to my favorite spitfire story in the world **Wonderland** by **YJ Spitfire Collabs, **which if you haven't read you should go do so now because it's wayyyyyy better and written by my favorites. I had hoped at the time of posting that it wasn't too similar, and I think I did a relatively good job at keeping it my own.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter, as it's a bit of a missing moment that we all wish we could have seen! A more in-depth look at Wally and Artemis' reconciliation post Artemis' big revelation. Enjoy!

Set during **The Usual Suspects**.

**The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES**

**Evolution: **_the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form._

Chapter 17: Anomaly

She feels like she can breath again; like all along she'd been drowning in her secrets and someone had finally handed her a breather. Maybe the breather had been there with her reach the whole time, and she had only now found the strength to grab it. She had told her teammates, her friends, the secret about her family, the one that kept her up at night, and she never could have prepared herself for their reactions: Robin's sincere words; Kaldur's trusting nod; Wally reassuring hand on her shoulder. No one had said a word against her, called her out as a traitor, or shunned her. It was more than Artemis had ever dared to dream of, and she's sure none of them realize how much their acceptance means to her.

Because it means _everything._

Together, the eight of them had come up with a plan to stop her dear father, Luthor, and Queen Bee in whatever scheme they'd summoned her, Conner, and M'gann for. All she has to do is fool Jade and Sportsmaster into thinking that she's betrayed the Team, and they will lead her to their allies on Santa Prisca. The Team will follow, provide back-up when the truth comes out, and hopefully, they can successfully put the three villains behind bars where they belong. It's simple really. All she needs to do is keep a cool head and a tough poker face. Both M'gann and Conner have left to prepare for their own charades, and Artemis is due to meet Jade in Gotham at Sportsmasters hideout in less than twenty minutes, so she's wasted no time in getting herself to the zeta tubes, ready for her act to begin.

"Hey, Artemis, wait up!"

She feels a sharp blast of air and hears Wally's words almost at the exact same moment. When she turns around, he is standing right in front of her, swaying from his sudden deceleration. The sight of him makes her heart beat faster, and she experiences a brief moment of doubt. Has he come to take back his earlier acceptance of her? Is he there to stop her from going because he doesn't trust her? As soon as the thoughts arise, however, they are driven away by the memory of his comforting, supportive arm on her shoulder. He is with her. He's on her side.

Wally opens his mouth to say something, but closes it just as quickly. He shakes his head to himself, and a small amused smile makes it way onto his face. "Pretty crazy day so far, huh?" he comments, and it's clear that that's not what he'd originally been meaning to say.

She decides to indulge him for now. "It's about to get a lot crazier," she reminds him.

"True," the young speedster concedes. He pins her with a surprisingly concerned stare. "You ready for it?"

_As ready as I'll ever be_, she thinks to herself. Truth is, she's never been a good liar, and it's Jade and her father here, but she needs to do this now: for herself and for the Team. "They need to be stopped," is all she says.

Wally nods, looking down at the floor. There's a beat of silence between them before he speaks again, scuffing one of his boots on the floor. "What you did back there," he says, eyes peering back up at her. "That took a lot of guts."

"It wasn't right to keep you guys in the dark about it," she tells him with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I'm relieved the secret's out actually. I don't have to lie to anyone anymore."

She looks him right in the eye when she says this, and she knows they're both thinking of the New Orleans mission. Of the words they'd exchanged before, during, and after; then, of the lack of words said between them this past month. It had hurt. She'd become so used to his company, his good opinion of her, that the icy cold shoulder she'd had to endure had made her feel about two feet tall. His harsh voice echoed in head, while the disappointed look on his face remained etched in her mind. It had hurt. It had hurt a lot.

She needs to have a clear head before this mission, and she doesn't know if she can trust herself to keep it together with Wally right now. "I better get going," she says, starting to turn away.

"Wait!"

His hand quickly reaches out to clasp her wrist, stopping her. His green eyes look bright and hopeful, with an apologetic edge, and she thinks she might know what he's going to say before he says it. She shoots him a questioning look, and the hand on her wrist rises to bury itself in his hair.

"Before you go," Wally stutters out quickly, eyes darting from place to place nervously. "I-I just wanted to say that, well, I'm sorry."

Artemis decides to take pity on him. "Wally, it's fine—"

He cuts her off. "No, it's not," he says firmly, his eyes finally looking on to hers. He's serious now, and he's edged closer so that she can see every freckle on his face. "I've been...a Class A jerk to you from the start, especially this past month, and that's not fair. You haven't deserved any of it, and for that, I'm really, _really_ sorry."

His eyes plead with her to forgive him, and she really can't stand up against their power. "I forgive you," she tells him, offering him a small smile. "I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with, so I'm sorry for giving you a hard time." She takes a deep breath. "And I'm sorry for not telling you all the truth about my family. I was...scared. I just didn't think you would have been able to accept me as a part of the Team with my less than desirable connections."

"I probably wouldn't have if I had known in the beginning," Wally admits quietly, and his tone suggests he's embarrassed by his words. "I would have thought myself completely justified in judging you based on something you have no control over. And I would have been _so wrong_," he tells her. She's never seen this side of Wally before; this serious, self-deprecating side so different from the goofy wiseacre she's used to. His words are coming out completely sincere and unfiltered, and she thinks she likes this side of him just as much, if not more, than the other.

"You're amazing, Artemis," Wally says suddenly, and he's rushing like if he doesn't get these words out, he'll burst. "A-a-and you totally threw me off from the get-go. Literally. Here you were, this little spit—spritely, know-it-all archer girl, coming in like you were ready to take every villain head on. And I was so..._intimidated_ by you. But you're amazing. You-you're an anomaly, Artemis."

She can feel her face becoming flushed at his words. They're not particularly eloquent or deep, but Artemis knows he's speaking to her straight from the heart, and really that's all that matters. Hearing his first impression of her, she remembers how nervous she'd been that first day coming into the Cave when all she'd wanted was to be accepted by him. Funny that they had been equally intimidated by each other. "Scientists don't usually like anomalies," is all she can think to say since her mind is reeling.

Wally only smiles that bright grin of his, and something in Artemis' stomach does a funny little back flip. "Well, I like this one," he says, laying a hand on her shoulder.

His touch makes her hyper aware of how close he is and of the sound of her rapidly beating heart. She hopes he can't hear it, too. "Yeah?" she asks, cursing the way it comes out all breathy and needy.

"Yeah."

Wally gives her shoulder a little squeeze and Artemis may or may not have forgotten how to breathe as she looks into his eyes. They're clear and focused with just a little hint of the fear she feels is reflecting back at him in her eyes. This is it. This is the moment she's been waiting for since Bialya; since that night on Halloween; since their playful jaunt in the snow; since he'd woken up from Zatanna's spell remembering the kiss she'd planted on his lips when he'd been asleep. Their faces are only inches apart. All they have to do is just close the tiny distance and press their lips to one another's in what she knows will be the sweetest, most perfect kiss of her life.

This is the moment, and yet, it's not. There's a job that needs doing, and they don't have time right now to be Wally and Artemis. They have to put this aside and get their heads in the game because everything counts on it. She knows this, but it still pains her to break out of this moment. It has to be done, though.

"Wally?"

"You have to go," he says, with an edge of frustration to his voice. "I know."

"But, later—?"

"Definitely."

Artemis holds his gaze for a long second before keying her destination into the zeta controls. She takes a deep breath. "See you on the other side, then?"

"You know it," Wally says. "I've got your back."

"Oh, yeah?" Artemis asks, heading into the zeta tube as it fires up. She turns to get one last glance at him.

"Always," is the last thing she hears before the zeta tube teleports her to that old telephone booth in Gotham. The dirt and grime around her have to effect for once. The word reverberates in her ears. _Always_. Artemis has never had anything permanent in her life, and she's never expected it, but she's beginning to think maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** YES, I included a cliche, "Always" moment. Every good couple needs one! Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy and review!

**Shameless plugs:** I hope everyone saw my Spitfire proposal entitled **This I Promise You.** If not, link's on my profile page! Also, I wrote a really smutty (too smutty for , smutty) Wally and Artemis fic called **Study Break **which you can find on AO3 under my username **melissa13. **

Anyway, next chapter will be...THE BIG KISS! I think. Who knows at this point.

Thanks for sticking with me guys!

xoxoxox Melissa


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